New Surefire L1 lights up the Bad Guy !

[Safety1st]

Just got in from an evening shift....

Got a call to a burglary in progress - 1am in a small residential area.

As we arrived a male ran from nearby the subject address and through gardens.... My buddy and I gave chase on foot, and called for other units and K9 officer.

I made my way around front, and using my new Surefire L1 searched the bushes, gardens and yards. (I'd left the M4 in the car, as I bailed out too fast to pick it up)...

Suddenly, the L1 reflected against something in a hedge/bush. I swept the beam back and forth and again, it was reflecting against something.. I made my way towards the bush, and baton drawn, L1 still shining at it...saw that is was the scotchbright hi-viz marking on a pair of Nike training shoes - still attached to feet, legs and a body !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Shouts of 'SHOW ME YOUR HANDS', followed by handcuffing of the suspect followed... :laughing:

As I led him to my car, he asked how I'd found him, as he was so sure he was hidden good... I simply pointed to his training shoes and tapped my Surefire L1...

"poop !" was his only reply... :mecry:

 

[EV_007]

Excellent! Glad it was able to shed a little light on the subject. Nice work. :twothumbs
Stay safe out there.

 

[elgarak]

Outstanding job. Always nice to see lumens at work.

 

[cryhavok]

cool story:thumbsup:

 

[jbosman1013]

got to love leds and reflective surfaces, did you find it to be enough light?

 

[Safety1st]

got to love leds and reflective surfaces, did you find it to be enough light?

Yeah, it was just good enough in the circumstances.

The distance was about 30-35 metres away.... Good enough for the beam to pick up the reflective sections on the training shoe...

There was street lighting present, and with the distance too... the L1 didn't really cut through the darkness..but good enough for any small tactical flashlight..and certainly for a LED.

In much darker sections of the night, it performs better..and of course at closer ranges.

 

[Sigman]

Glad it worked out! However, you "educated" him...I'd have left him "in the dark"! (pun intended )

 

[bitslammer]

Ah sometimes stupidity is fortunate. :thumbsup:

I can just imagine some stupid thief dressed all in black except for the sneakers. In bright daylight you hardly notice the small bits of reflective material but they do show well in the dark.

 

[Mad1]

+1 for the L1 I've not got an L1 cree i skipped that stage and got an ML-1 :laughing:

 

[Lightraven]

Good job.

My stock answer for when any bad guys ask me how I found them is . . .satellites. They see everything.

 

[flashfan]

Great story! Safety1st, if you haven't already, you should submit the story to SureFire.

 

[daloosh]

Good job, man! Thanks for sharing your story, I'm glad you caught the bad guy, and didn't get hurt doing it, too!
daloosh