Colonel Goddard is credited with founding the science of Firearms Identification and first applying it to help police solve the 1929 St. Valentine's Day Massacre in which seven gangsters were killed by rival Al Capone mobsters dressed as Chicago police officers.

That case led to the establishment of Northwestern University, the country's first independent forensic science crime laboratory, which Goddard headed. This university brought firearms identification, fingerprinting, blood analysis, and trace evidence under one roof. Goddard advised the FBI in 1932 when they set up a similar forensic science crime laboratory.

In the still controversial case of Sacco and Vanzetti, Goddard's firearms tests in 1927 verified that the revolver police found on Nicola Sacco was that used in the fatal robbery- the defense experts concurred with his finding. Because of Goddard's work, countless numbers of criminals have been brought to justice and the innocent vindicated.

David C. Wright has, over his 10-year career, exemplified what a firearm and toolmark examiner should be.

His duties at the Kansas Bureau of Investigation have him responsible for providing forensic services to 27 counties (one of which includes Kansas City). This feat is made all the more impressive when you consider that for most of the last 10 years, David has worked both in court and in the lab and done so at the highest level of performance. 

But it is not bench work alone that gets one a Goddard Award. This year’s winner’s dedication to the field and his contributions to the AFTE organization are not only well-known, but deeply appreciated by his peers all across the world. His diligent work in updating the AFTE headstamp gallery, his contributions to the Training and Standardization committee, his presentations, and published works in the AFTE journal, and – of course -- his work on the AFTE DVD program are all factors that have set him apart in the eyes of the selection committee.



From left to right: Dan B. Gunnell (incoming AFTE president), Calvin Goddard Zon (grandson of Calvin H. Goddard), David Wright (Kansas Bureau of Investigation), and Robert Walsh (president of Forensic Technology).

In addition to his AFTE related activities, he has worked tirelessly to help promote advancement in the field of Firearm and Toolmark Identification.

His work with ASCLAD, his instruction at the ATF National Firearms Examiner Academy, and the training he gives at numerous Kansas Law Enforcement Agencies, are just a few of the activities that have earned the KBI’s David C. Wright this year’s Goddard Award for Excellence.