THE HOT CARDBOARD BOX
By: Officer Larry Henderson
Fort Worth Police Department Helicopter Division
There is never anything routine about a family disturbance call. And Fort Worth PD officers working out of the west patrol sector would not soon forget one particular call assignment on the night of March 23, 1997 at 2:37am. A man had forced entry into the home of his estranged wife. After entering the house, the suspect assaulted her, grabbed his infant son and ran out the backdoor in an unknown direction. Officers arrived at the call location within two minutes. A perimeter was set up to include a four-block radius. A description of the suspect’s truck was obtained from the wife and broadcast. The unoccupied truck was found parked two streets to the south of the call location.
Forth Worth "Air-One", already in the air on a patrol flight overheard the call and responded to the location. While flying to the location ground officers gave an updated version of the call information to the helicopter crew. This included the location of the suspect’s pickup. Following a four-minute response, Air-One started a search. This continued for approximately fifteen minutes. The search had consisted of right hand orbits to the south (the direction leading to the suspect’s pickup). It had become clear that the suspect was not in the open. The search pattern was started again with special attention now given to the immediate area around the house. Due to the quick response it was felt that the suspect had not had time to run far. Instead he was forced to "lay up" while officers and the helicopter were checking the area. On the third orbit around the house the FLIR operator noticed that a cardboard box in the alley behind the house seemed to have that special glow. Officers were positioned behind protected areas at approximately thirty feet from both sides of the box. A K-9 officer, his four-legged partner and a patrol officer approached the box. With a little K-9 coaxing, the suspect was convinced to push the box off of himself and the infant. The arrest was effected without incident and the child returned to the mother.
There are several things that can be learned from this FLIR arrest. The timely information along with a well-defined parameter gave officers an advantage over the suspect. He was forced to do something he didn’t want to do…hide rather than escape the area. The use of established search patterns kept the search focused. After this didn’t pan out the experience of the FLIR operator came into play. When a suspect disappears right under your nose you know he is usually close and concealed. How many times have you been right on a suspect’s tail until he turned a corner then he vanished into thin air? Many times he is right there close to you. He managed to get into or under something. As a FLIR operator draw from your street experience. When things aren’t working take a moment to rethink the situation. Remember that time is on your side. The cardboard box used by the suspect wasn’t glowing when the search began, but given a little time the heat soaked box gave him away. Finally the positioning of the officers in the alley and the use of the K-9 may seem like "overkill". Is any arrest really "routine"? Once you have established a likely target work to cut off the avenues of escape. Keep in mind the officers are eager to work with you and the use of the K-9 team will make it safer for everybody. Happy hunting…