Testimonials
Mr. Kevin Pintar:
I am Lieutenant Brian White with the Benton County Sheriff’s Office, in south eastern Washington State. I have been a Collision Reconstructionist for 18 years and am the Fleet Manager for the Sheriffs’ Office. As the Fleet Manager, I am tasked with the procurement and up-fitting of all of our patrol vehicles. We began purchasing your products in 2009 and have been very happy with the quality and durability of them.
On October 8, 2013 at approximately 0445, BCSO Sergeant Mathew Clarke’s parked patrol car was struck head on by a suicidal subject driving a Dodge Ram pickup at speeds in excess of 100 MPH. Thank God, Sgt. Clarke was not inside the vehicle and was able to move away from his patrol car prior to the collision.
As a Collision Reconstructionist, I have been to the scene of many severe collisions during the course of my career. I was amazed at the amount of destruction that was done to Sgt. Clarke’s 2010 Crown Victoria Police Interceptor. Sgt. Clarke’s vehicle was knocked backwards, and yawed in a counter-clockwise direction, into a Kennewick Police Department patrol car that had responded to assist. The force of the impact from the subject’s pickup caused Sgt. Clarke’s vehicle to roll over on top of the Kennewick PD cruiser.
When Sgt. Clarke’s vehicle was later pulled off of the Kennewick PD cruiser and placed back on it wheels, I inspected the vehicle and initially believed that all items of equipment in the front seat area would be a total loss. At the time of the collision, Sgt. Clarke’s patrol rifle, a Department issued Colt M-4 Carbine, was inside the patrol car. The rifle was positioned in between the front seats in a Blac-Rac tactical weapons rack. The barrel was in the up position with the carrying handle facing the dash.
Upon further inspection of the vehicle, I could see the barrel of Sgt. Clarke’s rifle poking up from behind the back of the driver’s seat. The impact of the collision had pushed the driver’s and passenger’s seats almost together and had collapsed the prisoner partition into the back seat area. We were able to recover the rifle from the Blac-Rac and found that even though the rifle had taken an impact severe enough to dent the carry handle, the Blac-Rac had protected and secured the rifle in position.
The Sheriff’s Office and I couldn’t be more pleased with our Blac-Rac Tactical Weapons Racks. The rack withstood a violent crash and was able to protect another valuable piece of equipment and to keep that equipment securely in place. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to your staff for creating a solid piece of equipment with superb craftsmanship.
I have attached a link to a Police One article that covers the details of the incident. I have also enclosed several pictures of the patrol car to illustrate the level of damage. Feel free to use this story as a testament to your tactical weapons racks quality and durability.
Sincerely,
Lieutenant Brian L. White
Benton County Sheriff’s Office
