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METAL-TEC 1400 Personal Metal Detector
Torfino Enterprises
3500 Fairlane Farms Road
Suite 3
Wellington, FL 33414
800-867-3466 [VOICE]
561-790-0080 [FAX]
I recently had the opportunity to evaluate the METAL-TEC 1400 from Torfino Enterprises of Wellington, Florida. This unit is somewhat different than the Garret product line. It is much smaller - designed to be carried on the duty belt, and is primarily designed for individual LEO's involved in searches of subjects pursuant to arrest. It can also be a valuable tool in the performance of the "Terry Search".
For those that are not aware, the term "Terry Search" comes from a court case [John W. TERRY, Petitioner, v.STATE OF OHIO, Supreme Court of the United States 392 U.S. 1] back in 1968. It stemmed from a search performed by two LEO's on three men they suspected of preparing to rob a store in Cleveland. The Officer's observed two of the three men casing a store, and a third man who approached the other two periodically.
The LEO's confronted the men, and performed a pat-down since they suspected the men may have been armed. They found handguns on the first two men - one of them being John W. Terry. Mr. Terry went on to the Supreme Court in an attempt to find that the discovery of the weapon on his person was a violation of his 4th Amendment rights as he was not - at the time of the search - being searched pursuant to an arrest, but was only in an interview and frisk position. He claimed that the evidence found was not admissible.
The supreme court then found that the search WAS justified based on the concern of the LEO's that the subjects they were interviewing were armed. They were not concerned with the destruction or concealment of evidence relating to a crime. They were concerned that the subjects were most likely armed and posed a danger to the officers. The entire case is well worth reading, and can be found at this address...
http://wings.buffalo.edu/law/bclc/web/terry.htm
The basic premise of the case can be summed up as follows...
"We need not develop at length in this case, however, the limitations which the Fourth Amendment places upon a protective seizure and search for weapons. These limitations will have to be developed in the concrete factual circumstances of individual cases. See Sibron v. New York, 392 U.S. 40, 88 S.Ct. 1889, 1912, 20 L.Ed.2d 917 decided today. Suffice it to note that such a search, unlike a search without a warrant incident to a lawful arrest, is not justified by any need to prevent the disappearance or destruction of evidence of crime. See Preston v. United States, 376 U.S. 364, 367, 84 S.Ct. 1642, 1652, 18 L.Ed.2d 782 (1964). The sole justification of the search in the present situation is the protection of the police officer and others nearby, and it must therefore be confined in scope to an intrusion reasonably designed to discover guns, knives, clubs, or other hidden instruments for the assault of the police officer.
The scope of the search in this case presents no serious problem in light of these standards. Officer McFadden patted down the outer clothing of petitioner and his two companions. He did not place his hands in their pockets or under the outer surface of their garments until he had [p. 30] felt weapons, and then he merely reached for and removed the guns. He never did invade Katz' person beyond the outer surfaces of his clothes, since he discovered nothing in his patdown which might have been a weapon. Officer McFadden confined his search strictly to what was minimally necessary to learn whether the men were armed and to disarm them once he discovered the weapons. He did not conduct a general exploratory search for whatever evidence of criminal activity he might find."
The actual application of the "terry search" will vary according to department policy. It is generally done if a LEO has concerns that a subject they are speaking to is armed and poses a threat. Most commonly, the officer will ask the subject if it would be OK if the officer searches their person. Thus, the search is legal because the the individual has consented to the search.
I won't go any further into all of the legal nuances and differences in Terry Search laws from state-to-state. Volumes have been written on the subject, and I think more will be written in the future.
While it is far more common for a LEO to perform such a search than it is for a Security Officer, Security Officers can be in situations where a Terry Search is justified. It was in just these situations that I found the METAL-TEC 1400 to be an ideal tool to identify weapons.
Recently, I had a gentleman in our local bus terminal who appeared to have come straight out of the State Penitentiary, He had the customary prison tattoos, and was carrying a number of belongings in a clear plastic bag. He had requested permission to remain in the terminal overnight so that he could catch a bus the next morning. This particular terminal is closed from about 23:00 to 05:30.
He had been acting kind of funny, and gave the Officer I was relieving some rather vague and evasive answers when questioned. The Officer did not feel good about this person remaining in the terminal overnight.
The Officer advised me of the situation when I arrived, and I approached the subject. For some reason he was very forthcoming with clear answers for me. I just seem to have that way with people.
I asked if he had just been released from the penitentiary, and he told me he had. I asked what for, and he mentioned a number of offenses. When I asked if he had any weapons or contraband on his person or in his belongings, he automatically "assumed the position" and told me that he did not and that I could search him and his belongings.
At this point I had consent for the search in front of witnesses who worked for the bus company, and I proceeded to search him with the METAL-TEC 1400.
The search only took about 20 seconds, and I found nothing metal on him. I also checked his bag with the METAL-TEC 1400 and found no metal items there. Although I had the consent of the subject in front of witnesses - as I am not a LEO and would have had no probable cause anyway, I didn't go any further looking for drugs or anything else. I just wanted to make sure that I was safe from any weapons he may have been carrying. That's a terry search.
The METAL-TEC 1400 weighs in at only .54 pounds. Measuring a compact 1 3/4" wide x 7 7/8" long with the detector grid segment a bit more narrow at 1 1/2" wide, it fits easily on your duty belt. The grip portion is covered with a foam vinyl for easy holding.
The Metal-Tec 1400
A multi-purpose nylon holster for the METAL-TEC 1400 is included with the package, and a basketweave leather holster is available as an option. The nylon holster can be placed on your duty belt, or can be mounted in a vehicle - or on your seat organizer - using the included velcro mounting kit. This makes it easy to equip each vehicle with a METAL-TEC 1400 even if your department does not want each officer to have one.
Side-View Of The Included Nylon Holster And Vehicle Mounting Kit
I found the best location for it on my belt is at 135 degrees, just aft of my firearm and collapsible baton. The best way to remove from the holster is to push up on the tip, freeing more of the top of the unit from the retention strap.
The Position Of The Metal-Tec 1400 On My Duty Belt
The METAL-TEC 1400 uses one 9-volt battery, and it is easily replaced by removing two screws on the top of the unit. The new battery is inserted and the screws are replaced.
Low battery condition is identified by the unit vibrating continuously - even with no metal present - or by the lack of vibration from the unit in the presence of metal. There is a metal snap in the holster to test the unit. The METAL-TEC 1400 will vibrate if activated in the holster. Aside from acting as a battery/function test, this also serves to remind the user to turn it off.
Each unit is individually serial numbered, and carries a 3 year warranty. You can also order units with engraving of your department name from the factory.
The activation switch is hidden in one side of the grip. Press it once to turn on, again to turn off. It's not hard to find, and is easy to get used to. Keep it facing away from you when the unit is in the holster, and your hand virtually goes right to it when deploying the unit.
My Thumb Is On The Activation Switch In This Photo
Unlike the products from Garrett, the METAL-TEC 1400 is not a "distance-sensitive" device. It trades distance for enhanced ability in sensing the dimensions and composition of a given object. By operating at a reduced sensitivity - and therefore requiring the detector to be closer to the subject - the METAL-TEC 1400 gives a greater ability to truly identify individual objects on a subject.
It is similar to the principle in radio direction finding of reducing the sensitivity of the antenna and receiver as you get closer to the transmitter you are attempting to locate. It makes it easier to pinpoint the transmitter when it is so close that it seems to come from everywhere.
When properly used, the METAL-TEC 1400 can narrow the search area down to the specific object in an individual pocket - but this pre-supposes that the operator is trained on this technique and takes the time to do a thorough search. Fortunately, such training can be done very quickly.
The METAL-TEC 1400 is intended to be run right along the subjects clothing. If the METAL-TEC 1400 detects an object, the unit will vibrate - something which can not be heard by the subject unless the surroundings are very quiet.
If an object is detected, the operator can simply move the detector straight back - away from the subject. Based on the distance at which the unit stops vibrating, the rough density of the object can be determined - the more metal in the object, the further away from the subject the unit will register. Guns have more metal than knives, which have more metal than razorblades, which have more metal than needles.
The specifications state that the METAL-TEC 1400 will find firearms at a distance of 3"-4", knives 2"- 3", and razorblades at 1"-2", and metal foil at 1/8" to 1" depending on the amount of foil. I found these to be generally quite accurate with some firearms being found even further away. For those that don't know, metal foil is often used to hold drugs.
Specific identification of the size of the object is just as easy. Simply point the METAL-TEC 1400 directly at the area where it registers, and move it up and down and back and forth. It is very easy to find the outline of the object this way. It makes it easy to identify the specific object in the specific location on the subject.
I even tried an experiment with my wife. I gave her about 10 minutes of training with the METAL-TEC 1400, showing her how it is used, making sure that I instructed her that she could determine the amount of metal in the object by how far away the METAL-TEC 1400 registered the object, and how to point it straight at the object and move it back and forth to identify the outline of the object.
I then placed a number of objects under a thick blanket which concealed their outlines. The objects included a GLOCK model 30, a small knife, some pocket change, some keys, and a larger knife. I did not tell her what the objects were prior to the test. In a matter of about a minute she had correctly identified all of the objects.
Supplemental to the basic use of the METAL-TEC 1400, the manufacturer also recommend the "tapping technique", where the probe end is used to lightly tap a detected object. This is useful to identify cigarette packs, keys, change, etc.
As a Security Officer I found the METAL-TEC 1400 very useful in further identifying items that were found with a larger, less discriminatory detector. I often encountered individuals wearing jackets with a lot of metal zippers, chains, etc. The Garrett product line would register almost everywhere on these individuals. Because the METAL-TEC 1400 is designed to operate in close, I could use it to identify objects in pockets and pouches, without interference from nearby zippers and chains. It can also be used to identify if items are being concealed by other metal objects. For zippers and chains - get a baseline reading of how far away the chain/zipper registers, and then run the METAL-TEC 1400 along the chain/zipper at just outside of that distance. A reading will indicate a larger metal item being concealed by the chain/zipper.
Another area where the METAL-TEC 1400 is valuable is in the case of an arrest. You don't want to be poking around in pockets with your fingers unless you really have to - especially in the case of a drug user. You never know what might turn around and poke you back. The METAL-TEC 1400 is not only good for identifying metal objects, but it can also be used to open pockets, and to push items up and out of pockets using the techniques described in the product manual. This keeps you safer from potential needle pokes.
Keep in mind that it is NOT considered by the manufacturer to be a replacement for the pat-down hand search, but it considered to be a supplement to such a search, enhancing the ability of the officer to detect dangerous objects.
Bail enforcement and corrections officers take note - I also like the METAL-TEC 1400 for searching subjects for hidden handcuff keys in the beltline. More and more criminals seem to be pulling this trick, but the METAL-TEC 1400 finds these items easily.
Torfino Enterprises offers a training and certification program, and a train-the-trainer program which is available for $29.00. As I mentioned previously, use of the METAL-TEC 1400 is easily taught. My wife picked up on it in less than 10 minutes.
Lastly, the METAL-TEC 1400 is very sturdy. It can handle being dropped, and can even be employed as a handheld impact weapon if the need arises and there are no other options.
I recommend the METAL-TEC 1400 to all LEO's, and found it useful enough as a Security Officer to carry one myself. It even got a lot of attention from my co-workers. People have asked if it is everything from a baton to a taser or a radio.
Those in the corrections and bail enforcement fields would also find this a most useful tool - especially in searches for handcuff keys or small weapons concealed in the beltline.
It retails for around $160. You can contact Torfino Enterprises directly for a quotation and for quantity discounts. .
.-- James Bell Jr. - JeepGunner.com