,

It practically gallops!

Intravenous League

National Forensic Academy - drop of blood National Forensic Academy - blood wiped, smeared, dropped on different surfaces The blood you are about to see is real. The stains have been changed to protect the innocent. Welcome to the “Harvard of Hellish Violence,” where law enforcement professionals get hands-on training at simulated crime scenes, including digging up real corpses at the world-famous Body Farm.

National Forensic Academy - H2 donated by Patricia Cornwell National Forensic Academy - Patricia Cornwell's shooting target The influence of Patricia Cornwell is evident as soon as you arrive at the National Forensic Academy in Oak Ridge. The Hummers she donated are parked right outside. Once inside, there’s a photo which identifies her as “founding advisor, benefactor, challenger.” She has given them the proceeds from a Knoxville book signing in 2002. A few years ago she helped them simulate a private plane crash. I want to make a return visit to the NFA to see the collection of books and papers Cornwell is donating next. It includes her research on the Jack the Ripper case. They give her stuff too. Cornwell requested NFA hats for Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt as she headed to the pitch meeting for a Kay Scarpetta movie.

National Forensic Academy - Robert and Nathan explain blood spatter National Forensic Academy - bloody baseball bat and ax handle The NFA is a ten-week program for active law enforcement personnel. Nathan Lefebvre and Robert Geiger hosted the small group I had assembled for a tour. We learned about the history and mission of the Academy and got to poke around in their photography room and fingerprint laboratory. As they spoke, I wondered if that thing behind them was what I thought it was. Yes, it was a bloody baseball bat, which reminded me of a scene in “The Untouchables.”

National Forensic Academy - bag of expired blood National Forensic Academy - drawer of weapons The National Forensic Academy uses actual human blood to teach about spatter patterns. Medic Regional Blood Center gives them pints that have passed their expiration date. The blood can be cast off an assortment of weapons, many of which were confiscated from criminals.

National Forensic Academy - staircase for dropping blood from various heights National Forensic Academy - blood drops on angle board A “staircase to nowhere” is used to drop blood from various heights. Students can place boards at different angles to see the way the droplets run down the paper as they dry. My son volunteered to drop blood from several points on the staircase.

National Forensic Academy - bullet trajectory laser pointer National Forensic Academy - spraying fog onto laser beams The same room has racks of drywall, simulating the walls of a house. Robert hammered spikes into the walls to represent bullet holes. To show the trajectories, he put laser pointers in the holes and sprayed their beams with canned fog.

National Forensic Academy - wall mural in the lobby National Forensic Academy - Nathan Lefebvre, Skeleton, Frank Murphy, Robert Geiger Former Knoxville Police Chief Phil Keith was instrumental in the founding of the Academy. After the debacle of the O.J. Simpson criminal trial, there was a need for standardized training for crime scene investigators. Nathan told us that some officers work hard to get assigned to crime scenes. Others get demoted to that position. It varies depending on how that police department views forensics.

July 1, 2010 | Filed Under Body Farm 

comments

One Response to “Intravenous League”

  1. Nathan Lefebvre on July 2nd, 2010

    Thank you, Frank for your visit. We enjoyed having you at the academy!