3-D LASER SCANNING & PHOTOGRAMMETRY
Using 3-D Laser Scanning to recreate a crime or accident scene and accurately place physical evidence and objects as they appear in photos or video.
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THE CHALLENGE
How to develop an accurate reconstruction of an event when key pieces of physical evidence (such as a skid mark) were poorly measured but are documented in a photograph?
THE SOLUTION
Reconstruction of physical evidence that is missing from the accident, fire or crime scene is often required to create a complete reconstruction. Using photogrammetry, 3-D laser scanning and a proprietary software analytical system, PSI can accurately place within a computer generated working model of the scene evidence that exist on a photograph, but is no longer at the scene.
THE SCENARIO
At the end of a high-speed chase, in a busy intersection in a large metropolitan area, the driver of a stolen vehicle, stuck in traffic, quickly backs up into a peace officer’s car crushing an officer. Other peace officers open fire and kill the driver. The family members of the driver file suit against the municipality and the officers, alleging that the officers used excessive force. There were many witnesses to the incident and their accounts differ in important aspects. The challenge for the defense attorney is to determine if the physical evidence supports the officers’ version of the events.
Measurements at the scene were sparse. The skid mark left by the stolen vehicle as it backed up and collided with the peace officer’s car and the resting positions of the stolen car and peace officer’s car were key pieces of evidence but were not sufficiently measured to allow for a complete reconstruction. Fortunately, there were many photos of the scene and one of them showed the skid mark. Other photos showed all the vehicles in their post-collision positions. Both the peace officer’s vehicle and the stolen vehicle were impounded and available for further measurements and analysis.
