After a friendly fire incident left a cop dead last
month, the New York Police Department has its sights set on futuristic
technology that may help officers in the field avoid accidental shootings.
Omar J. Edwards, 25, was killed on May 28 as he chased down a
burglary suspect while dressed in his off-duty street clothes with his service
weapon drawn. When three plainclothes detectives came upon the scene and yelled
for him to stop, Edwards turned with his weapon and was shot according to the
NYPD in an AP article.
Because the bad guys never look like they do in the movies,
with capes and a devious look in their eyes behind a mustache that’s as crooked
as their smile, confusion between officers in different departments occurs all
too often. Since 2006, five New York City police officers have been shot
accidentally by fellow officers. The last New York City police officer killed
in the line of duty was Russel Timoshenko. The 23-year-old officer was shot
during a traffic stop in Brooklyn in July 2007.
Days after the shooting, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly
asked his inner circle to compile a list of department initiatives that would
help prevent confrontations between fellow officers. Soon after, the deputy
commissioner for public information at the NYPD, Paul Browne, said the
department is talking with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory about the
possibility of tailoring technology for the department.
Pacific Northwest National Lab is one of the U.S. Department of Energy’s ten national
laboratories, managed by DOE’s Office of Science. PNNL also performs research
for other DOE offices as well as government agencies, universities, and
industry to deliver breakthrough science and technology to meet current key
national needs.
One of the ideas from PNNL involves the use of radio
frequency tags that would allow officers to pinpoint where other cops are in
the city. Another idea involves tags that would work gun-to-gun and use an infrared
sensor so that when a weapon is pulled from an officer’s holster it triggers a signal, which may be seen or heard, that would be sent to the gun of
a nearby officer.
While the research appears to be underway, it is still quite
preliminary. The suggestions were among a list sent to city leaders, which also
included suggestions on training, such as updating the training video for
officers, conducting a firearms refresher course, and offering training specific
to undercover officers.
Robocop technology aside, the big light-bulb idea to come from all of this was having the department's anti-crime officers visit and
introduce themselves to officers from other departments. That way, the next time
they confront someone with a loaded weapon in the streets, they can stop to see if they recall
meeting them before.
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