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Walton County Sheriff’s Office Helicopter Equipped with Night Vision
02/03/10 - 02:34 PM

Walton County Sheriff’s Office

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The Walton County Sheriff’s Office Helicopter (Air One) is equipped now with the state-of-the-art night vision system.  The FLIR (Forward Looking Infra-Red) camera is less than forty-pounds and mounted on the bottom of the aircraft.

This week Chris Clark with FLIR Systems based in Boston, Massachusetts has been working with Walton County Sheriff’s Office pilots Scott Thompson and April Hantzis.  With military backgrounds, both Deputies’ Thompson and Hantzis are familiar with night vision technology.  Clark points out the latest advances in using the hand-held computer device, which resembles a video game to control the camera angle.

FLIR works by latching on to thermal energy released by a person, or vehicle on the ground.  The system has proven to be a tremendous asset during search and rescue operations during the day, or at night.  It’s also used to locate a criminal suspect from the sky.

Since 911, the technology once used almost exclusively by the military has been customized to assist local law enforcement.  The Walton County Sheriff’s Office is one of just a handful of law enforcement agencies in the Florida Panhandle to be equipped with the FLIR.

The Walton County Sheriff’s Office was able to secure the necessary Homeland Security grant monies to cover the 250-thousand dollar price tag.  Sheriff Michael A. Adkinson, Jr. has placed a high priority on having the Sheriff’s Office play a pivotal role in the Regional Domestic Security Task Force, which helped pave the way for the awarding of the grant.  The FLIR will play an integral role in saving lives, and help in the apprehension of dangerous fugitives.