State police resuscitate aging ambulance
Wednesday, February 21, 2007 11:40 AM PST
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| Andy Gates | Argus Observer
Oregon State Police Forensic Scientist Devin Mast steps out of the new crime scene response vehicle, which was parked outside the state police patrol office in Ontario Tuesday. |
Andy Gates
Argus Observer
ONTARIO
The Oregon State Police Forensics Laboratory in Ontario recently resuscitated an old ambulance, and refurbished it into a crime scene response vehicle capable of serving four counties in the state.
Plans for the new crime scene truck were in the works for two and a half years, Oregon State Police Lt. Steve Taormina said, and it cost around $80,000 for a retired ambulance, a new chassis, as well as various modifications, upgrades and a new paint job.
The truck was purchased through capitol outlay funds, and with a new engine, it is capable and cost effective, police said.
Taormina said depending on equipment, completely new crime scene vehicles could cost around $110,000.
The vehicle boasts a fresh water sink for clean-up, new floors, spaces for rakes and shovels, plenty of lighting, and tables that fold down for workspace to review warrants and study evidence.
There are high-powered lights that can illuminate any kind of scene, at any hour of the day, with a generator for additional power.
The vehicle also offers a fold-down awning on the side of the truck.
In the past, investigators utilized cars, station wagons and pickup trucks, Taormina said, which were loaded for each crime scene response, and were not as roomy as the new vehicle.
The new crime scene response vehicle, Taormina said, will allow better preparation, especially for long distances.
The new crime scene vehicle is bright blue and proudly boasts the words, “Oregon State Police Forensics,” which may provide further exposure to the police division, which has been in Ontario since 1976, Taormina said. The Oregon State Police Forensic Laboratory in Ontario is one of six in the state, and with three staff including Taormina, it serves local police agencies in the counties of Malheur, Harney, Grant, and Baker. Eighty-percent of the crime scene work done by the state police involves assisting other local agencies, Taormina said.
The Ontario Forensics Laboratory is accredited by the American Society of Crime Lab Directors, in the disciplines of controlled substances, biology, trace evidence, firearms, tool marks and crime scenes, according to ASCLD online information.
The lab handles testing in the categories of controlled substance analysis; serology, or body fluid identification; trace evidence screening; firearms and tool marks; scene reconstruction; blood stain pattern interpretation and general crime scenes, according to the lab’s ASCLD scope of accreditation.
The Oregon State Police Forensic Laboratory in Ontario processed 29 major crime scenes in the 2003 to 2005 biennium, and the office handled 14 other scenes so far in the 2005 to 2007 biennium, Taormina said. One crime scene was processed so far this year by the state police forensics lab Feb. 11 — a stabbing in the Annex area.
In that case, a female resident, Crystal Purcell, 45, was indicted on assault and harassment charges in connection to an incident where a man was stabbed in the chest at her home. He was hospitalized in fair condition last week in Boise, police said.
No Dhimmi wrote on Aug 14, 2009 9:38 PM:
And this isn't "racist," because Islam is not a race, anymore than Communism or Nazism are races, both of which killed far fewer people than Islam.
Disgusting. "