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August 04, 2008
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Bangor, Maine, PD to get new bomb imaging system
By Nok-Noi Ricker
Bangor Daily News BANGOR, Maine — If a mysterious package is found, members of the Bangor Police Department's bomb squad have the job of identifying if it's a danger. So it is good news that new imaging equipment, paid for in part by Department of Homeland Security funds, recently arrived to make identifying what's inside questionable packages easier, Lt. Mark Hathaway said Thursday. "It's a quicker, faster system," he said. "So we're not spending as much time with the suspect package." The time saved could help prevent injury to his bomb technicians, Hathaway said. The old system used film to X-ray suspicious packages. The new Logos Imaging System, which is a portable X-ray machine, is similar to what was used before but is digital and allows bomb squad personnel using a computer to enhance the resolution of the pictures and look at them from different angles. "It's an advanced imaging system," Hathaway said. "The resolution and the quality is far superior to what we've had in the past." The new equipment will be used at most calls the bomb squad responds to, he said. "The two things we use virtually on every call is the robot and the imaging system," Hathaway said. "Those are like our bread and butter." The bomb squad's 4-foot-tall remote-control robot can handle potentially dangerous objects and explosives, and is used to make initial approaches to objects. There are now only three bomb squads in Maine and the Bangor unit, which has four federally certified technicians, has responded to calls outside of the city. Officer Mike Brennan is taking training courses now in Huntsville, Ala., Hathaway said. Copyright 2008 Bangor Daily News
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