(Orlando, FL November 8, 2010) At a ceremony honoring those citizens who provided assistance to the victims and the investigative efforts of the Orlando Police Department in the aftermath of the Gateway Plaza workplace shooting, Orlando Chief of Police Val Deming presented Leica Geosystems employee Frank J. Hahnel, III with OPD’s Good Citizen Award for his on-scene assistance in documenting the homicide scene using Leica’s ScanStation C10 3D laser scanning technology.  Hahnel is an Orlando resident and is Leica Geosystems’ Accident Investigation Account Manager for North America.

It was on November 6th, 2009 that Jason Rodriquez opened fire on former colleagues at the engineering firm he had been let go from killing one and injuring five.  Hours later Orlando Police tracked Rodriquez to his mother’s home where he peacefully surrendered.  The crime scene left behind was a large and daunting one encompassing most of the eighth floor of an office building where Rodriguez had stalked the hallways shooting his victims.  Shortly after securing the crime scene the OPD reached out to Hahnel who had only recently provided a demonstration to the agency on the capabilities of the ScanStation C10.

The ScanStation C10 is an eye-safe and easy-to-use portable 3D laser scanner that can both panoramically photograph a scene and then capture over 3.5 million survey quality measurements in less than two minutes.  The technology is used by law enforcement agencies all over the world for crime scene investigation, vulnerability and threat assessments, post-blast investigation, police action inquiries, accident investigations and more.  Hahnel responded to the call-out and systematically scanned the crime scene from 45 different perspectives to document the scene in 3D.

“The ScanStation cut the time required to do our work in half by eliminating the need to manually measure the scene” said Karen Livengood an OPD Crime Scene Investigator.  “Additionally, the data from the ScanStation lets you virtually walk through the crime scene in 3D, which makes for a clearer presentation to the jury in court” she added.

Following the award presentation by Chief Deming and Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, Hahnel expressed his sympathy for the victims and his appreciation for being recognized.  “Helping with the investigation was a life-changing event for me as I had never seen the results of such a violent crime.  I am grateful to have been able to help the police in the community in which I live”.

Leica Geosystems – when it has to be right

With close to 200 years of pioneering solutions to measure the world, Leica Geosystems products and services are trusted by professionals worldwide to help them capture, analyze, and present spatial information. Leica Geosystems is best known for its broad array of products that capture accurately, model quickly, analyze easily, and visualize and present spatial information.
Those who use Leica Geosystems products every day trust them for their dependability, the value they deliver, and the superior customer support. Based in Heerbrugg, Switzerland, Leica Geosystems is a global company with tens of thousands of customers supported by more than 3,500 employees in 28 countries and hundreds of partners located in more than 120 countries around the world. Leica Geosystems is part of the Hexagon Group, Sweden.

To view this release on the web please click here: http://www.leica-geosystems.us/forensic/press_19.html

For further information regarding the use of HDS for Accident Investigation contact:

Frank J. Hahnel, III
Accident Investigation Account Manager
Leica Geosystems Inc.
407.421.0873 phone
frank.hahnel@lgshds.com
www.lgshds.com
www.leica-geosystems.us/forensic