People from outside the industry often ask us, "is it just like on TV?".
Unfortunately, the answer is no. Firearms examiners would absolutely love to collect evidence, acquire it, analyze it, compare it to thousands of other pieces of evidence and then declare exactly who the killer is. The truth is, however, that the process can take weeks, months, and even years. But that wouldn't make for the best TV, would it?
Stacey Hartman and Michelle Fletcher like to stay behind the scenes. They seldom leave their office, but when they do they can change someone's life.
Both women testified in separate trials for recently convicted murderer Anthony Parish. And their findings might have swayed jurors more than once.
Hartman and Fletcher, both 30, are members of a specialized group of forensic scientists who study firearms, perform tests on weapons and make determinations about key evidence in criminal cases.
The job requires close attention to detail, patience and precision. They look at guns and their components for hours under microscopes and document details regarding the size, shape and features of those items.
Then they put the weapon through various tests, including one to determine whether it could have accidentally fired - important when someone's freedom is on the line.
Hartman and Fletcher work in a back office at the Fort Wayne Indiana State Police post in southwest Allen County. They are the sole firearm examiners for the post, which serves 18 counties and nearly 200 law enforcement agencies in northeast Indiana. There are 12 examiners statewide employed by state police.
Their workspace is decades old and has a worn feel. Their desks are joined by a countertop that houses microscopes. Behind them are more microscopes and testing devices.
Unlike the glamorous, highly computerized labs used on TV crime dramas, this one is rather plain. In fact, many of the firearms examiners' tests don't even require a computer.
According to the people who do this work, it's a profession often misunderstood by the public. Popular crime-scene investigation TV shows have been both a help and a hindrance, they said. While the shows have attracted more people to forensic science, viewers might think high-tech tests with nearly instantaneous results are performed for every criminal case. That's not so, Hartman said.
And unlike on TV - where forensic scientists might wear stilettos, a skirt and blazer - a firearm examiner's wardrobe at the state lab consists of hospital scrubs and lab coats. Hartman and Fletcher will often wear latex gloves as they examine evidence, which can be biohazardous.
"Although we do the same thing on every case, it's never the same," Hartman said.
Some examinations take a day; others can take seven days, again, contrary to the rapid results on TV, in which forensic scientists sometimes complete tests in less than 15 minutes.
At the lab, the goal is a 45-day return on each piece of evidence, with priority given to homicides.
Firearms examiners are trained to test any gun or ammunition - including bullets and shell casings. For example, they will test-fire a weapon in a water tank to obtain a pristine shell casing. That casing will then be compared with casings found at a crime scene. If the casings match, the examiners can conclude whether a particular gun fired both.
Other tests include gunpowder residue exams to determine how far a gun was from its target. They also use chemical agents to restore serial numbers on firearms.
Civilian labs
Before becoming a firearms examiner, Fletcher had fired a weapon only once and had little knowledge of the workings of a gun.
Hartman, on the other hand, had a familiarity with firearms, having carried one on a previous job as an investigator for the Allen County Prosecutor's Office.
When Hartman graduated from Ball State University in 2002, she knew what she wanted to do. But her dream job didn't exist. At the time, state police employed only uniformed firearms examiners. She instead took a variety of jobs that were similar to her desired field, such as interning at the Allen County Coroner's Office and working as a police dispatcher.
In 2006, state police began a transition to all-civilian labs. Led by the governor's office, it was an effort to get more officers on the street, said Indiana State Police 1st Sgt. Mark Keisler, the forensic firearms unit supervisor in Indianapolis.
Since 2006, the number of firearms examiners employed by state has more than doubled, Keisler said. During that time, the evidence backlog for examiners has decreased. What was once a backlog of 700 cases statewide now hovers around 200, he said.
"I don't regret anything I had to go through to get to where I am," Hartman said. "It's very rewarding. We're helping the victims out there ... and making a difference."
Fletcher started as a document examiner at the Indianapolis state police post. When an opening in firearms examination popped up, she applied and got the job.
"I've never learned so much in my life as I have doing this," the mother of two said. "Every day can be totally different. I love my job."
Testimony
While they are quick to point out how much they enjoy their work, the women are equally fast to name the most difficult part: testifying in court.
"For me, it's the most stressful part of the job," said Fletcher, who has testified 10 times in her three years on the job. "It's just the nerves of the unknown."
Mostly, Hartman and Fletcher will testify whether recovered shell casings came from a particular weapon. It was that sort of evidence that was presented at Parish's trials and helped garner convictions.
Hartman testified in Parish's July trial. Parish, 20, was tried on accusations he shot and injured 43-year-old Dennis Salley in August 2008. A jury convicted Parish of attempted murder and other gun-related charges. He has since been sentenced to 50 years in prison.
"It's almost kind of like you are studying for a test or an exam," Hartman said. "You want to know everything about your case because you don't know what they are going to ask you."
At Parish's most recent trial last month, Fletcher provided video testimony that shell casings retrieved at the crime scene were fired from a .38-caliber revolver. The firearm was linked to Parish by additional evidence presented at trial.
A jury then convicted Parish in the August 2008 murder of Antoine Woods, 30. Woods was found dead in a car near the Dove Shack Bar. Parish awaits sentencing in that case.
A firearm examiner's conclusions are crucial in criminal prosecution, said Karen Richards, Allen County prosecutor. Examiners are used predominantly to testify in homicide cases, she said. But they might also be used in accidental and injury shootings, she said.
"That kind of evidence is critical, especially if you can link the projectile to a gun and the gun to the person," Richards said. "The more of that type of evidence we can have, the more successful we are in our prosecutions."
No uniform
The field of forensic science is expansive and ever-developing.
About half of all the weapons examined each year by forensic scientists are new models. Examiners often attend schooling put on by firearm manufacturers where they can learn firsthand how to strip down a weapon, take it apart and repair it, Keisler said.
But though the profession of firearms examination has been in existence for decades, it might still be one of the lesser known fields of forensics. Civilian interest in forensics careers is growing, in part, because of those crime-scene TV programs, said Sgt. Ron Galaviz, a state police spokesman who often attends regional job fairs to recruit for the state police.
"There are a lot of people who want to be part of the criminal justice system but don't necessarily want to wear the uniform; ... the laboratory division is one of those places," he said. "Without them, we couldn't effectively do our job."