FLIR Announces Winners of 2019 Vision Awards
ARLINGTON, VA, July 19, 2019 – FLIR Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: FLIR) announced the winners of the 24th Annual Vision Awards last night at the APSCON 2019 Conference in Omaha, Neb.
FLIR Vision Awards are presented to members of the airborne law enforcement community who have best demonstrated use of thermal imaging systems in carrying out their missions, whether pursuing suspects, search and rescue efforts, or saving lives. The awards are divided into four categories, including the FANG Award for operations involving a K9 support team.
The 2019 FLIR Vision Award winners are:
Vision Award 1st Place
Houston Police Department
Pilot: Frank Gans
Tactical Flight Officer (TFO): Christopher Thompson
Vision Award 2nd Place
Prince George’s County Police Department
Pilot: Mike Kane
TFO: Christopher Elrod
Vision Award 3rd Place
Pima County Sheriff’s Department
Pilot: Rick Hofmann
TFO: Byron Trappman
Life Saver Award
Michigan State Police Aviation
Pilot: Don Zinz
TFO: Cole Martin
Pursuit Award
Fresno County Sheriff Department
Pilot: David Cunha
TFO: Rich Coningsby
FANG Award
Tulsa Police Air Support Unit
Pilot: Michael Richert
TFO: Nilo McCrea
K9 Handler: Jered Metzger
Dog: Khan
“The FLIR Vision Awards are above all a testament to the brave men and women who comprise America’s airborne law enforcement community,” said Dr. Amela Wilson, Vice President and General Manager of FLIR Surveillance. “They deploy at a moment’s notice on often dangerous missions where lives frequently depend on how well they do their job. FLIR is proud to provide the technology and support that help responders achieve successful mission outcomes.”
FLIR has presented the Vision Awards and sponsored the APSCON conference for more than 20 years. A panel of judges nominate finalists and choose the winners based on several criteria, including:
- Crew coordination – how well did the aircrew communicate and manage the incident, both inside the cockpit and with ground officers?
- Technical competence – skill-level shown around search techniques, anticipating suspect behavior, focus under pressure, and operating imaging systems.
- The “FLIR Factor” – how instrumental were FLIR cameras in completing the mission?
Videos of the winning submissions, showing how thermal infrared technology was used to aid operations, can be found below.
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About FLIR Systems, Inc.
Founded in 1978, FLIR Systems is a world-leading industrial technology company focused on intelligent sensing solutions for defense, industrial, and commercial applications. FLIR Systems’ vision is to be “The World’s Sixth Sense,” creating technologies to help professionals make more informed decisions that save lives and livelihoods. For more information, please visit www.flir.com and follow @flir.