Major Dan Branch, a 29-year veteran of the Gwinnett County Police Department and South Precinct Commander stated that Pictometry's high-resolution imaging database of the county and software were used by the responding officers in strategic preplanning on the scene, as well as for tactical deployment of personnel during the incident in Gwinnett County, GA.

Pictometry's industry leading software enables users to easily access up to 12 different views of any property, building, highway, or other feature in a county in a 3D-like format. The software also enables users to create measurements such as distance, height, elevation, and area, directly from the oblique imagery as well as insert GIS content and other data.

"Having a sketch of the apartment complex layout provided by the facility's office was not sufficient to provide the level of detail we needed at the scene," said Major Branch. "We did activate our aerial unit, but there was a delayed response to the scene." The Pictometry visual information system arrived with the SWAT van and was able to provide multiple images of both the apartment complex and surrounding area.

"The Pictometry system gave us a lay of the land that we did not have before. We were able to see the actual structure and where garages were located near the apartment Mr. Nichols was in. These were not indicated on the apartment drawing provided by the complex. Having the Pictometry system allowed us to see an accurate location of trees, contours of the land and other buildings we could use for cover," said Branch.

Using Pictometry's imagery at the scene, the first responding officers and the SWAT team were able to:

-- Determine the best possible placement of personnel to surround the apartment complex

-- Identify terrain and elevation characteristics, such as berms for officers' cover

-- Establish both inner and outer perimeters, safe zones, and evacuation planning so that risk of injury to the general public and other officers was minimized

-- View structural composition of the building to determine potential impact of munitions if required

--Review potential areas of conflict to reroute traffic away from the incident area

"This tool gives us the ability to efficiently prepare for the worst possible scenario. Part of that preparation is evaluating what could happen strategically and deploying counter measures to meet any eventuality that may occur. Pictometry helps us get up to speed faster," said Major Branch.

Gwinnett County has been in the forefront of the development and advance of Pictometry imagery and software in public safety applications. Under the direction of Battalion Chief Wayne Harper, the Fire and Emergency Services Department initiated, provided input to, and was the first in the nation that deployed Pictometry's touch screen interface for all its ladder and command vehicles. Gwinnett County Fire Department personnel use their Pictometry system while en route on virtually every incident response. This enables them to start formulating their plan of action before arriving on the scene. 

A number of Pictometry's county government customers use the software and county image databases as part of their homeland security efforts. This allows police, fire, and emergency management agencies to work together.

About Pictometry
Pictometry International is a rapidly growing software company that provides visual information systems. The company's patented imaging process captures georeferenced, high-resolution oblique (at an angle - natural view) and orthogonal (straight down) digital images of counties and states. Combined with the company's interactive software solution, users can see everywhere, measure anything, and plan everything. The company has a growing customer base approaching 100 counties, the State of Massachusetts, federal government organizations, as well private business users. Major metropolitan areas using Pictometry include Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Washington, DC. Applications include 9-1-1, appraisers, assessors, emergency management agencies, engineering, financial institutions, fire departments, GIS, www.pictometry.com.