A special look at Monterey County’s bomb defusing robot

Suspicious packages, regarding bomb activity, have put local post offices on high alert, and the Monterey County bomb squad on standby if something should happen.

It’s a dangerous job being on the Bomb Squad, but the Monterey County Sheriff’s Department robots are used to help keep bomb squad agents stay safe.

You typically see bomb diffusing robots from far away, but KION got to look at one up close. It’s an all-aluminum, nearly 800 lb. machine. It goes by the name ‘Boomer.’ But this bomb diffusing robot, isn’t all about show.

“We use them as much as possible. We average about 40 to 50 call outs a year. We use them at every call out if we can,” says Jessie Grant. Grant is one of the members of the bomb squad in Monterey County. He says without training, these machines are useless. Luckily grant knows his stuff. “It carries a small weapon system that we can use to disable devices, and has several cameras so we can observe the terrain and get a better idea of the surrounding that we are dealing with.

Unveiled in 2005 this robot has changed the way the Bomb Squad does their job, putting humans out of harm’s way.

It’s been on all sorts of missions, including one back in July when a suspicious pipe bomb was supposedly attached to a tree at Monterey Peninsula College.

And while the robot has a claw capable of moving things bombs, deactivating the bomb is usually a safer alternative. Grant says, “This is a percussion actuated non electric disruptor. And then we will shoot water through a package, shoot water through something, and disrupt that explosive device without it detonating.”

The robot is also capable of operating in rough conditions. It can climb stairs and street curbs, nearly completely off road.

Now along with boomer, the Bomb Squad also has two other bomb defusing robots. So they can send them to multiple locations if need be.