UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS

HOUSTON DIVISION

DEBORAH BROWN, et al., Civil Action No. H95-587

Plaintiffs

v.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, et al.

Defendants

DECLARATION OF EDWARD F. ALLARD, PhD.

Edward F. Allard declares and states as follows:

1. My name is Edward F. Allard. I have worked for many years in the field of radiation physics related to thermal imaging, thermal signatures, thermal suppression and especially in aspects of those subjects relating to Forward Looking Infrared [FLIR] military systems.

2. My experience is set forth in my curriculum vitae, which is attached to this declaration. I received my Bachelor of Science in physics from Boston College and my doctorate in physics from the University of Missouri. I hold Patent no. 4,413,668 on a device to suppress thermal signatures and Patent no. 5,013,092 on a microdischarge image intensifier. My inventions and studies will enable use of uncooled thermal imagers with predicted performance better than the current TOW antitank missile night sight; design and calculation for these required an expert knowledge of photocathodes, photo detectors, signal detection, noise, charge transfer and optics for thermal imaging devices.

3. I began my career in this field as a supervisor at the Defense Department's Night Vision Laboratory, later becoming Deputy Director, Systems Development. My team developed and defended a variety of programs in the area, including the L3TV systems, the thermal night sight for the Dragon antitank weapon, the night sight for the TOW antitank missile system, and other programs. NVL pioneered the Common Module System that is the foundation of the thermal imaging systems used in Operation Desert Storm.

4. As a defense contractor and government employee, I have analyzed a number of thermal imaging devices. These include comparisons of L3TV with thermal imagers, comparisons of American and foreign imagers, analyses of the thermal imager for the M1 tank, design of thermal pointing systems, construction of a T-62 thermal target for tank gunnery, and countermeasures to completely hide an M60 tank from enemy FLIR and to reduce FLIR signatures of tents, trucks, ships, and individual soldiers. The interpretation of FLIR imagery requires skill and experience. As but a few examples, materials which reflect sunlight and thus seem bright in the visual spectrum will often appear indistinct, or even dark, to a thermal imager; the very reflective properties that make them bright to the eye make them appear cool, and thus dark, to FLIR systems. Interpretation of thermal images requires a knowledge of the reflective properties of both natural and man-made objects.

5. I have reviewed a FLIR tape depicting the events outside Waco, Texas, on April 19, 1993, which tape was obtained from one of the defense attorneys involved in the criminal cases that arose out of those events. My analysis of the tape follows. All times given are those shown in the timeclock shown in the tape. All directions are given from the standpoint of the viewer.

6. At 11:24:31, the FLIR is recording events in the rear of the building, where the Combat Engineering Vehicle [CEV] has partially demolished the area known as the "gymnasium." The FLIR shows several flashes appearing from a point to the left of the CEV. These are elongated in shape, several feet long, and appear and disappear at a regular rate with regular spacing between them. I note five flashes from one point, appearing and disappearing at the rate of 7-10 per second. At this location some non-flashing movement also appears visible. There is no natural explanation for these flashes. Natural phenomena do not heat and cool in fractions of a second. My expert opinion is that these flashes appear to be the muzzle flashes of a fully-automatic firearm, firing at about 500 rounds per minute cyclic rate. Carefully examined, in slow motion and by frame-to-frame observation, the flashes originate to the left and progress to the right, indicating that they are being fired from a source outside the building, and fired into the building.

7. At 11:42:56, the aircraft bearing the FLIR is circling the side of the building. A hot image is visible inside the side, ground floor, window of the "corner tower." As the aircraft continues its movement the image vanishes, underscoring the fact that the image is of a hot object inside the room, the sight of which is lost as the aircraft moves on and alters its perspective through the window.

8. At 11:44:52, a momentary flash of radiation is seen to the rear of the central "tower." This may be at a location in the open area to the immediate rear of the building. The flash is visible for ten frames, approximately a third of a second, much longer than the flashes described above. It is not possible with these data to determine the cause or source of the flash.

9. At 11:47:50, the FLIR is recording events at the front of the building. A CEV has driven into the building, withdrawn, and has a large piece of rubble lodged on the front of the vehicle. An individual is dimly visible exiting the vehicle, walking to its front, and dislodging the rubble. The CEV is at this point halted within a vehicle length, perhaps twenty feet, of the front of the building.

10. At 12:07:40-42, the aircraft bearing the FLIR is circling past the right tower. A heat source, long and narrow in form, quickly appears across a window of the tower. Upon careful examination, slow motion and frame-by-frame, I believe this is more likely to be a heat source outside the window, than one inside it. It is noteworthy that the image does not vanish or fade as the aircraft flies past, in contrast to the heat signature noted at 11:42:56.

11. At 12:08:32, the FLIR depicts events at the rear of the building, where the large "gymnasium" structure has largely been demolished. Two very bright thermal flashes are visible near to or in the window at the center, in front of and to one side of the CEV which is stopped there. I see no natural explanation for these flashes. They would not, for instance, be reflections of sunlight off glass.

12. At 12:08:52 there are again radiation flashes, which I believe to be firearms fire, from the side and rear of the CEV. Again, when carefully examined they appear to move in the direction of the building.

13. In brief, my examination of the FLIR tape indicates:

a. An analysis of the tape, field by field, reveals thermal flashes occurring that have pulse times and time intervals between them consistent with the intervals of automatic weapons fire. Pulses of approximately 1/15 second occur. There are no naturally occurring phenomena that could explain these events.

b. Other thermal flashes of radiation, approximately 1/3 second in duration, occur in various areas of the building complex. Again, no naturally-occurring phenomena can explain this.

I declare under penalty of perjury that the above is true and correct.

/s/

Edward F. Allard, Phd.