The Boston Marathon bombing suspect was found hiding inside a boat in a Watertown backyard on Friday thanks to an alert resident in Watertown, Massachusetts, and an infrared camera similar to the type used here in Connecticut.
Trooper Eric Hurley operates a similar camera from a Connecticut State Police Chopper called Trooper 1.
"It provided some really good situational awareness to the ground units," Trooper Eric Hurley, of Connecticut State Police Emergency Services Aviation Unit, said.
The infrared, or IR camera, picks up thermal energy from objects that the naked eye cannot see.
"The IR camera can be used in complete darkness, can be used when there's smoke, smog," Hurley said.
The technology helps police track down suspects and find missing people.
The operator uses a joy stick to move the camera around and the zoom is so powerful it can detect a person's heat signature from more than four miles away.
Lt. Paul Vance, of Connecticut State Police, said the incident in Boston proves the technology is helpful and effective.
"Our local, state and federal law enforcement up in Massachusetts, they did a stellar job,” Vance said. “We are fortunate in Connecticut to have that type of training. We have much of that technology and we are prepared here in Connecticut."
