2019
Matthew Noedel
Nashville, TN
Shooting scene reconstruction often considers the location and distribution of fired cartridge cases. Many studies have evaluated the “ejection pattern” of semiautomatic firearms under various circumstances. Relatively untested, however, is how much displacement will occur to an already landed and stable fired cartridge cases due to “traffic” through the scene. A series of experiments was conducted where cartridge cases already on the ground and stationary were run over by vehicles to measure the amount of secondary movement that occurs. The observations from this study support that fired cartridge cases have stabilized onto relatively flat pavement generally do not move far from where they came to rest when they are run over by automobile tires.