Equipment
Wharton
County Deputy Constables from Precinct Two have new equipment
to work
with in the form of in-car computers. These laptop computers
are making common tasks
of these officers much simpler and easier. Constable
John A. Szymanski explained that
he and his officers are getting to do in the rural areas
what is common in the
metropolitan areas. He went on to say that to his knowledge,
this is a first for Wharton
County.
They are called Mobile
Data Terminals or MDT's for
short. These pieces of equipment link the deputy in the
patrol car with computers with the Texas Department of
Public Safety in Austin. The middleman is San Antonio
Police Department, who assist smaller agencies such as
Wharton County Constable's Office in linking up to Austin.
The average time a return is received back to the deputy
is usually 7 to 10 seconds. By doing this, the deputies
can receive important information about a suspect’s
driving history, vehicle registrations, wanted subjects
and stolen articles usually in seconds. The deputies can
even communicate between themselves while in Wharton County
and Southeast Texas. Constable Szymanski said this information
helps not only the deputies working on the street get
the information quicker, but it frees up the dispatcher
to perform other duties, thus making everyone’s
job more effective.
This project
was funded through the current county budget and the assistance
of the East Bernard Community Patrol Project. The East
Bernard Community Patrol Project was established approximately
four years ago in conjunction with the East Bernard Chamber
of Commerce to help bring these types of projects to life
with his agency. This Project is supported through local
donations from citizens and businesses mainly in the East
Bernard Area. Constable Szymanski said, "I feel this
is a very worthwhile venture that is putting the donations
to very good use. Just one of the advantages is running
a vehicle's registration prior to getting out on a traffic
stop to see if the vehicle is stolen before contacting
the driver. You can't put a value on officer safety and
the cost of this technology is very reasonable."
Constable Szymanski went on to say with the ease of
retrieving this information, he and
his deputies routinely find vehicles that have expired
registrations or fictitious
registrations (registrations belonging on other vehicles)
where individuals are trying to
take advantage of the system. "You and I go to
the courthouse and pay for our vehicle
registrations, but some people don't. These are the
people that we routinely try to catch.
Usually if these people don't pay for simple things
like registrations, they don't have
insurance on their vehicles which can end up costing
all of us in the long run."
EKG/Defibrillator is located on the far right in orange
covering. Every minute of every day, sudden cardiac
arrest (which often leads to heart attack) claims another
victim. A heart attack occurs when the arteries that
supply blood to the heart become blocked, the flow
of blood which carries oxygen to the heart is slowed
or stopped, and the muscle fibers contract chaotically
rather than in synch with each other as they normally
do. Cardiac defibrillation is a way to return an abnormally
fast or disorganized heartbeat to normal with an electric
shock. Manual defibrillators work by giving the heart
a controlled electric shock, forcing all the heart
muscles to contract at once, and, hopefully jolting
it back into a regular rhythm. This is a procedure
that is preformed by a certified paramedic.
The blue and tan plastic box on the far left is a
trauma or first aid kit. It contains equipment used
for bandaging, obtaining vital signs and basic first
aid supplies. In addition, it contains advanced medical
supplies such as IV supplies, airway supplies and emergency
medications used to stabilize patients in the field.
The rope in the orange bag closest to the front is
a rescue throw bag. It has 25’ of rope that can
be thrown to a person in flood waters, while the rescuer
can safely stand out of rushing water. In addition
to the throw bag, we have 50’ rescue ropes and
fire extinguishers.
EKG/Defibrillator is located on the
far right in orange covering. Every minute of every day,
sudden
cardiac arrest (which often leads to heart attack) claims
another victim. A heart attack occurs when the arteries
that supply blood to the heart become blocked, the flow
of blood which carries oxygen to the heart is slowed
or stopped, and the muscle fibers contract chaotically
rather than in synch with each other as they normally
do. Cardiac defibrillation is a way to return an abnormally
fast or disorganized heartbeat to normal with an electric
shock. Manual defibrillators work by giving the heart
a controlled electric shock, forcing all the heart muscles
to contract at once, and, hopefully jolting it back into
a regular rhythm. This is a procedure that is preformed
by a certified paramedic.
The blue and tan plastic box on the far left is a
trauma or first aid kit. It contains equipment used
for bandaging, obtaining vital signs and basic first
aid supplies. In addition, it contains advanced medical
supplies such as IV supplies, airway supplies and emergency
medications used to stabilize patients in the field.
The rope in the orange bag closest to the front is
a rescue throw bag. It has 25’ of rope that can
be thrown to a person in flood waters, while the rescuer
can safely stand out of rushing water. In addition
to the throw bag, we have 50’ rescue ropes and
fire extinguishers.
Our department purchased the Stinger Spike System
after we assisted in two police pursuits within two months.
The spikes that are used are hollow so the tires will
deflate instead of causing a blowout which results in
road debris and possible future accidents. Another advantage
of hollow spikes is that the fleeing suspect will not
lose control of his/her vehicle after driving over the
device as the tire deflates within 12-20 seconds. The
purchase of this product will safely end pursuits with
minimal dangers to other citizens on the roadway.
Video Cameras
All of our vehicles comply with state mandates and
have in-car video cameras systems with remote audio.
These in-car video camera systems were purchased by
a grant totaling approximately $12,000. Using these
cameras decreases liability and provides additional
evidence when presenting cases in court. They have
proven to be a valuable asset to our agency.
