The Orlando Police Department

Forensic Video Imaging Unit

Jessica Eson

Prior to the popularity of television shows like CSI, most people had no idea that careers like police video technician or forensic imaging unit even existed. As an Intern for the Orlando Police Department, I spent a day “shadowing” the videographers for the department, Terry Gariepy and Jed Ackerman. After spending my day in the world of forensic imaging, I learned that though these men work incredibly hard, their daily jobs are nothing like the television portrayal seen on CSI.

Our day begins at 8 a.m. with work on a training video. Police Officers are required to complete a number of training sessions each year in order to retain their certification. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement mandates that officers attend an 8-hour training session on Use of Force and Taser update. Even though officers were offered multiple dates to attend this training, some could not fit it into their busy schedules. To assist the officers, Terry is transforming the training into a DVD. Unfortunately, the audio from a clip shown in the training doesn’t match up to the video of the clip. Fixing this half-second problem and others like it can easily take more than one hour.

Though a long and often tedious process, video editing is a specialty of Jed and Terry. Together, they have produced and edited several videos for the City of Orlando and the Orlando Police Department. Two of those videos- a documentary of the 2006 Neo-Nazi Protest Rally and a segment detailing the functions and capabilities of the OPD SWAT Team were recently nominated for and awarded the prestigious “Telly Award.”

Although today’s first project is the editing of a training video, the primary job of the video team is to process video retrieved at crime scenes. On occasion, they help document crime scenes and videotape criminal activity. They complete their work both at the scene of crimes and in their high-tech office. Terry and Jed are also responsible for designing, installing, and maintaining video surveillance systems. Though they were not called out to a crime scene while working with me, two detectives were in need of their help. 

They quickly switched gears from the video editing when the detective arrived with surveillance video of a burglary. Jed and Terry worked to pull images of the burglary suspect faces and identify the type of truck they used to flee from the scene. Unlike the technology used in CSI where video technicians can enhance a face or logo from any image, the available technology and quality of the video make it impossible to enhance the logo of the truck. Instead, using multiple references, the team is able to identify the make, model and year of the truck based on vehicle characteristics, rather than the front emblem. The images of the truck and suspects are put together into a media release and sent to local news stations.

Shortly thereafter, another detective comes to the Forensic Video Imaging Unit with surveillance video of a theft in a convenience store. The goal with this video is the same. Jed and Terry want to pull still images of the thieves to release to the media. The challenge in this task is that the OPD computers are not compatible with the format of the video. The download and installation of a new computer program is all it takes to get back in business.

Though their daily routine may seem boring compared to their television counterparts, Jed and Terry have a fair share of excitement. They have worked on many high profile cases, including a number of murders. The team was used extensively in filming a re-enactment of a murder early in 2006. They supplied and set up cameras at the scene and reviewed footage to help prove that a man intentionally hit and killed an Orange County Sheriff’s Deputy. The lives of the team are certainly different from those presented on CSI. Their daily assignments are not as intense, and their equipment consists of technology that actually exists. Yet Terry Gariepy and Jed Ackerman do everything they can to help detectives catch criminals, be they murderers or candy thieves.