Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department
CSI Unit
(Initial ride-a-long)
Jim Fuller was recently given the opportunity to do a ride-a-long with Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Crime Scene
Investigation Section. This was a great experience so I wanted to share some of the high points of my ride.
First, a little background on my reasons for the ride along,
one of my friends, Monte, is a Senior Crime Scene Analyst and the Training Coordinator in the CSI Section. Monte and his
Supervisor Pete, stopped by Rifle Dynamics the other day, where we started discussing guns (no surprise there) and police work.
Monte explained that while the CSI employees receive firearms training, they are encountering long guns/rifles on a more
frequent basis. Monte, had concerns that the limited knowledge on how to handle certain Combloc weapons such as
AK-47,AK-74, could conceivably cause an accident.
At this current time, Metro has a decreased budget for training due to the recent downturns in the economy. Of course the CSI
Section is NO exception to this, so Monte asked if I would be willing to help put together a Combloc weapons familiarization
course geared towards the CSI employees. I was honored by the request and very excited to help my local law enforcement
agency.
I felt that it would be helpful to see how the CSI Section operates and what challenges are encountered during field investigations
when handling and making firearms safe. It was decided that one or more ride-a-longs would be needed to come up with the best
approach for developing this project.
Monte took care of the protocols needed to set up and conduct a ride-a-long. After being approved for the ride-a-long, I was
assigned to a weekend day shift.
June 12, 2010, I arrived at the CSI Section for my ride, 6:00 AM was my start time, and I was greeted by Senior Crime Scene
Analyst Dan, whom I would be riding with. Dan is a 6-year veteran of the CSI Section, and very knowledgeable on all aspects of
firearms, so we were able to really delve into the firearm issues and the needs of the CSI Section regarding Combloc weapons.
The first stop of the day was the Coroners office. I was able to observe the procedures involved in an Autopsy regarding a
gunshot wound. I have seen many of gunshot wounds over the years, but this one was a good example of rifle ballistics.
The next call we responded to was a domestic disturbance at a local casino. The two individuals involved both sustained minor
injuries. This investigation was a good example of the documentation process involving injuries and dealing with victims.
Our final call involved a gunshot victim that was transported to a local hospital. This was a very interesting call, and it was not
clear as to what events had transpired to cause this incident. Again, this was another example of good investigative work
regarding the documentation process that will lead to the true facts of what transpired. The crime scene investigators of the Las
Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, have earned my respect for their ability to spend hours having to document, photograph
and preserve all the aspects of a crime scene.
While we didn’t encounter any weapons at the crime scenes, the time spent talking and exchanging information with Dan, was
very valuable for the Combloc safety program I am developing with the CSI Section.
I would like to thank Dan for his insight into the inner workings of CSI Section. Dan is a true professional who seriously cares
about his job and the pursuit of Life, Liberty and Happiness within his community. All the folks I met that day, were
knowledgeable and very helpful, this made my experience even better than I had hoped for.
Thank you to all the professionals at Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department CSI Section and stay tuned for my next
installment on the CSI Section.
Jim Fuller
Rifle Dynamics
ATAC TV
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department
CSI Unit
(Second ride-a-long)
Jim Fuller recently completed a second ride-a-long with Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Departments, CSI Section. We began our shift at 2200 hours on Friday night, and
concluded the shift at 0800 hours Saturday morning. I was assigned for the first half of the shift to veteran and Senior Crime Scene Analyst “Dan.” Dan is a retired Marine
and has 19 years experience with the LVMPD CSI Section. Dan’s experience was very obvious to me, at one scene he was pointing out fingerprints on objects that were
usable and those that were not, and how to tell the difference. This knowledge only comes from years of education, then applying that education to the reality of field work. I
witnessed Dan applying a special skill set when dealing with and working around the victim(s) of crime scenes. Dan demonstrated that he was able to make a bad situation
more manageable, and thus gain the trust of the victims to further his ability to help them.
During the ride-a-long, Dan mentioned the “curse of the ride-a-long,” in CSI terms this means that even though it was a Friday
night in Vegas, it could be a slow night. This of course is an old wives tale, but over the years there has been some truth to the
curse. Fortunately, we were able to respond to a few burglaries as well as conduct a dead body investigation at one of the local
hospitals. Though, these are the proverbial bread and butter calls, there was still much to be done by the investigator(s) to
complete the documentation and evidence recovery process.
Dan and a second investigator were unfortunately tied up documenting and processing a vehicle that was involved in a crime the
previous night, so I was assigned to Senior Crime Scene Analyst “Bill.”
The first call we responded to, appeared to be a suicide at a local casino. A individual possibly fell/jumped from the upper level of
the parking structure to the ground below, which happened to be in a main pedestrian traffic area, not a pleasant sight on a busy
Friday night. When we got there the victim had already been transported by medical personnel. Bill spent a great deal of time
documenting the scene with photography and notes. After we cleared the initial scene, we responded to the hospital where the
victim had been transported. Bill again took his time documenting the condition of the victim in a very meticulous manner. I was
surprised that there was very little apparent damage to the exterior of the body but most certainly terminal damage to the interior.
While it is awful seeing this type of situation, Bill was very clinical and professional is his demeanor and manner. It may seem
callous to some, but it was not difficult for me to put aside what you might call “horrible” and exchange it with the ability to look
at the whole picture and learn from it.
The second call Bill and I responded to was a burglary to vehicle, located in the parking structure of a local casino. While
engaged in this investigation, we were informed that there was a second burglary to vehicle located in the parking structure of
another local casino in our near proximity. Bill stated “it was most likely a local crew hitting the parking structures.” Very useful
fingerprint evidence was recovered at the scene, which will be used to help identify the criminal(s) involved.
While we did not handle any firearms this night, I learned much and scribed many notes, which has aided me in formulating this
project. In the coming weeks, I will continue to work with my CSI friends to create a training program for the proper recognition,
handling, transporting and impounding of Combloc weapons at crime scenes. I will also gear this course for other staff and
officers assigned to units that come into contact with Combloc weapons.
I am very excited about this project and look forward to constructing this class with the LVMPD CSI Section, as well as, to offer
it to our other LE clients.
I would like to thank all the supervisors and investigators I met and spoke with, this was a great opportunity and I look forward to
working with the CSI folks again in the near future.
Jim Fuller
Rifle Dynamics
ATAC TV
