The Red Bluff Police UFO Incident - August, 1960.

As it mentions in this F.B.I. Police pdf file, "a great many times police officers have figured in UFO sightings directly" and the case below is a pretty good example involving close range sightings, separately located witnesses, electromagnetic interference effects and a UFO reported to be performing 'aerial gymnastics' and aerial feats that 'were actually unbelievable'.

It even states in the report by atmospherical physicist Dr James E. Mcdonald that the police officers 'had their pistols drawn and were debating whether to fire' on the unknown object -whatever it was.

Red Bluff Police UFO Encounter - August, 1960:

Aug. 13, 1960..Red Bluff, CA: California Highway Patrol Officers Charles A. Carson and Stanley Scott were on patrol when they sighted what they thought was an airliner about to crash. When the UFO had descended to about 100 or 200 feet altitude it suddenly reversed direction and climbed to 500 ft. Description: round or oblong surrounded by a glow (color not mentioned) and having definite red lights at each end. They continued to watch the UFO as it performed "unbelievable" aerial feats. The local RADAR operator confirmed the UFO at this time but denied it the next day. Other Tehema County Sheriffs' officers also saw this UFO and another similar one that same night.

NICAP Case Directory

UFOs: Greatest Scientific Problem of Our Times? - Dr James Edward McDonald

Object description - Police teletype report:

"At this time it was clearly visible to both of us. It was surrounded by a glow making the round or oblong object visible. At each end, or each side of the object, there were definite red lights. At times about five white lights were visible between the red lights.As we watched the object moved again and performed feats that were actually unbelievable."

Object emits red beam / EM effects:

The local radar base confirmed a UFO at this time (but denied it next day). "We made several attempts to ... get closer to it, but the object seemed to be aware of us and we were more successful remaining motionless and allow it to approach us, which it did on several occasions." Each time it did so, they experienced strong radio interference as the UFO emitted a red beam of light that swept the area and illuminated the ground. "The object was capable of moving in any direction. Up and down, back and forth .. it moved at high (extremely) speeds and several times we watched it change directions or reverse itself while moving at unbelievable speeds."

Second object / Separately located witnesses:

..When they had reached the Vina Plains Fire Station, the object was approached by a second object that came from the south.

The second object moved near to the first and both stopped and hovered for some time, occasionally emitting red beams. After a time, both objects vanished below the eastern horizon. They had observed the first object for a total of about two hours and fifteen minutes.

When they returned to the Tehama County Sheriff's Office, they found that the object had also been seen by Deputies Fry and Montgomery, as well as by the night jailer. All described the same thing.

USAF official 'explanation':

"refraction of the planet Mars and the two bright stars Aldebaran and Betelgeuse".

Links:

lightsinthetexassky.blogspot.com...
www.ufocasebook.com...
www.greatdreams.com...

reply to post by karl 12


Way to present this great case in a concise and pithy fashion, karl12. And this is a perfect example of USAF incompetence regarding this subject.

Unless something is causing obvious injury to people, there is no reason to fire on anything. Given the description what purpose would it serve anyway?

Originally posted by Orkojoker
..And this is a perfect example of USAF incompetence regarding this subject.

Orkojoker, it sure is mate and there are plenty more examples here - apparently in the Red Bluff case the three celestial objects weren't even in the sky at the time...so they changed the explanation to 'Capella'.

The Bluebook explanation that came out after a few days attributed this very detailed, close range sighting of a large object, seen by two experienced officers to "refraction of the planet Mars and the two bright stars Aldebaran and Betelgeuse".

NICAP referred the question to one of their astronomical advisors, who found that none of these three celestial objects were even in the California skies at that time. Bluebook then changed the explanation to read Mars and Capella. Capella, the only one of those celestial bodies that was even in the sky at 2300, was nowhere near the location of the sighted object, and could not, of course, give the impression of the various movements clearly described by the officers.

link

Cheers.

OMG!!! I live in Red Bluff! I can't believe my home town is the subject of an ATS/UFO post...

Although I was raised here, I've never heard anything about this incident. (Moved here in 1970). Thanks for posting this - I'll share it with my local pals!

reply to post by Rockerchic4God


Hey Rockerchic4God, thanks for the reply and it certainly looks like your home town was host to a very bizarre UFO incident - they even make mention of it in the NICAP evidence report (see section 7) :

A synthesis is presented of data concerning Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) reported during the past 20 years through governmental, press and private channels. The serious evidence is clarified and analyzed. The data are reported by categories of specially trained observers and studied by patterns of appearance, performance and periodic recurrence.

The UFO Evidence - published by NICAP

Cheers.

Very compelling case, I'd heard of it before but wasn't aware of the details even though I have read Project Bluebook

Pretty dire excuse used by the USAF and then changed to an even more stupid one, I'd have loved to have seen what those cops saw, lasers and all. The radar guy was given the sharp word in the ear quite quickly.

Looks like there was quite a UFO flap going on over Northern California in August 1960.

An intensive concentration of UFO sightings occurred over a six day period in northern California. Dozens of witnesses, including at least 14 police officers, reported typical disc, elliptical and cigar-shaped UFOs.
The state police sighting of a highly maneuverable ellipse, which shone red beams of light toward the ground the night of August 13, was reported on the front page of state newspapers and on the newswires.


Chronology of Main Cases:

Aug. 13-14

Hollywood. 10:30 p.m. Red elliptical UFO passed overhead, hovering once.

Willow Creek. After 11:00 p.m. Circular red UFO approached, circled, dove, climbed away.

Red Bluff. 11:50 p.m.- 2:05 a.m. State policemen reported reddish elliptical UFO which made "unbelievable" maneuvers. [See Section I.] Second UFO reported during latter part of sighting.

Aug. 16-17

Corning. 8:30 p.m. Two cigar-shaped objects flashing red and white lights passed from E to NE.

Eureka. 9:30 p.m. Group of 6-8 white and red lights maneuvering information. Air Force explanation: aircraft refueling mission.

Corning. About 9:50 p.m. Boomerang-shaped UFO passed from SW to NW, twice emitting bursts of white light.

Mineral. About 11:00 p.m. Dozens of witnesses, including Tehama County police officers, watched six brightly lighted objects "dipping and diving and moving at simply unbelievable speed" in the southern sky. Objects alternately hovered, speedily changed position.

Concord and Pleasant Hill. 11:40 p.m. to 12:15 a.m. Circular UFO flashing red and blue lights maneuvered over area, hovering, moving up and down, side to side.

Near Healdsburg and Santa Rosa. Early A.M. Deputy Sheriff observed "flattened ball, dull red and crimson on the edges," hovering and moving slowly about 5 degrees above horizon.

Aug. 17-18

Roseville. Night. Two oblong lighted objects bobbed around in sky for an hour; witnesses included police captain and sergeant.

Folsom. UFO with two bright white lights on front, red lights at rear, maneuvered over area off and on for two hours at night; whining noise "like spinning top" heard.

Dunsmuir. 12:10 a.m. Oblong reddish UFO with associated smaller yellow light descended, then rose and sped away. High-pitched sound "like rushing wind" heard.

Redlands. 1:45 a.m. Oval-shaped UFO with dome and row of red lights on edge, maneuvering slowly in sky.

August 18

Honeydew (Humboldt Co.) 9:54 p.m. The postmaster watched a delta-shaped object, clearly visible for more than 2 minutes. UFO approached, made sharp turn and moved away. Red glow visible on front, lights on inside of V.

link

Originally posted by Mclaneinc
Very compelling case, I'd heard of it before but wasn't aware of the details even though I have read Project Bluebook

Pretty dire excuse used by the USAF and then changed to an even more stupid one, I'd have loved to have seen what those cops saw, lasers and all. The radar guy was given the sharp word in the ear quite quickly.

Mclaneinc, thanks for the reply and I certainly agree it's a very compelling UFO case -I also agree about the contradiction in radar reports and subsequent USAF explanation.

Here's what one of the police officer witnesses had to say about it:

"... I have been told we saw Northern lights, a weather balloon, and now refractions.

… I served 4 years with the Air Force, I believe I am familiar with the Northern lights, also weather balloons. Officer Scott served as a paratrooper during the Korean Conflict. Both of us are aware of the tricks light can play on the eyes during darkness.

We were aware of this at the time. Our observations and estimations of speed, size, etc. came from aligning the object with fixed objects on the horizon. I agree we find it difficult to believe what we were watching, but no one will ever convince us that we were witnessing a refraction of light."

There seems to be so many of these highly dubious USAF 'debunks' out there that it's not even funny anymore - perhaps Dr James Mcdonald had it right all along:

"As a result of several trips to project Bluebook,I´ve had an opportunity to examine quite carefully and in detail the types of reports that are made by Bluebook personnel.In most cases, I have found that theres almost no correlation between so-called "evaluations and explanations" that are made by Bluebook and the facts of the case...
There are hundreds of good cases in the Air Force files that should have led to top-level scientific scrutiny of this problem,years ago,yet these cases have been swept under the rug in a most disturbing way by Project Bluebook investigators and their consultants."

Dr James McDonald -Senior physicist at the Institute for Atmospheric Physics and professor in the Department of Meteorology at the University of Arizona

UFO Statements

Cheers.

Originally posted by xyankee
Unless something is causing obvious injury to people, there is no reason to fire on anything. Given the description what purpose would it serve anyway?

Xyankee, I see what you're saying and I'm not the biggest fan of guns either but, until we found ourselves in the exactly the same position, how would we know how we would react?

If the police reports are to be believed then the object was repeatedly closing in on the officers, shining a red beam of light down on the ground and causing their radios to go haywire - I would imagine they were pretty spooked.

There are also some cases of officers being injured due to UFOs - some are listed on this thread but here are two of the more well known incidents.


1979, Minnesota - Sheriff Blinded by Light from UFO

1978, California - Police Officer Suffers Burns from a UFO


Cheers.

reply to post by karl 12


Karl,

I have nothing against guns, as a matter of fact I carry one every day I am just stating what a legal and rational response would be from my point of view!

Originally posted by xyankee
I have nothing against guns, as a matter of fact I carry one every day

Hey Xyankee, apologies for presuming that you did - it also seems like this kind of behaviour isn't an isolated occurrence - here are two other cases posted by Easynow from a few years later in which police officers have nearly opened fire on very strange objects - both instances also involve incredibly dubious USAF explanations.

The Portage County Incident, Ohio - April 17, 1966:

Wilbur "Barney" Neff - Police auxiliary

When the Ravenna radio operator suggested to Neff that he take a shot at the UFO, Neff replied that it was like nothing he'd ever seen before, and implied he'd rather not try shooting.

Thread

The Exeter UFO Encounter, New Hampshire - Sept. 3, 1965:

"What did you guys do when you saw that thing?" I asked.

"Well, it seemed to tilt and come right at us. Norman told me later that I was yelling, 'I'll shoot it! I'll shoot it!' I did automatically drop on one knee and drew my service revolver, but I didn't shoot."

Thread

Cheers.

LIST OF CALIFORNIA POLICE WITNESSES, Aug. 13-18, 1960

State Highway Patrolman: Stanley Scott
Charles A. Carson
Tehama County Sheriff's Office: Deputy Clarence Fry
Deputy Montgomery
Chief Criminal Investigator
A.D. Perry
Deputy Bill Gonzalez
Sonoma County Sheriff's Office: Deputy William Baker
Deputy Lou Doolittle
Plumas County Sheriff's Office: Deputy Robert Smith
Roseville, Placer County: Captain Hugh McGuigan
Sergeant James Hill
Mt. Shasta Police: Officers Pete Chinca,
Jack Brown
George Kerr

www.nicap.org...

Radar confirmation also confirmed to two newspapers as well as police officers:

At the time of the sighting the radar tracking was, as we have seen, confirmed to the Highway Patrolmen. It was also confirmed to the San Francisco Examiner (August 17) and the Corning Daily Observer (August 15). * Corning is about 20 miles south of Red Bluff, site of the UFO encounter. The Daily Observer, after checking with the Red Bluff radar station, reported in a front-page story that the UFO had been tracked on radar. The story also indicated that, perhaps under orders, the Air Force installation had begun to be less cooperative: "This morning the radar station was considerably more vague than it was Saturday midnight when it confirmed the officers' report on the object."

Link

Thread

More info on the Red Bluff case taken from the recently released APRO Bulletins:

Palrolmen Chase UAO Two Hours

At 11:50 p. m. on the night of 18 August
1960, Highway Patrolmen Stanley
Scott and Charles Carson of Red Bluff,
California, were in pursuit of a speeding
motorcycie on Hoag Road when they
spotted a strange object about 1b degrees
elevation in the east. For the ensuing
two hours and 1b minutes, Carson
and Scott pursued the object. The
detailed story is one of the most interesting
we have ever encountered..

APRO Bulletin - September, 1960

Wow! What a story this would be if the Police actually shot at it!

reply to post by JR0D51


JR0D51, thanks for the reply and I'm kind of glad they didn't.

Have been looking more into UFO police sighting waves and it seems that, as well as the Red Bluff, Portage County and Exeter cases, there was also this 'flap' from Ohio in 1973 - here are just two of the newspaper reports but there are many other cases found at the links on the thread.

8:00 p.m. At least 15 sightings of unidentified flying objects "covered with red, green and blue lights" zooming about at tree-top level, were reported in Southwestern Ohio Wednesday night
UPI, The Columbus Dispatch, October 11, 1973

Greenfield, Ohio - Two police officers chased separate unidentified objects more than five miles last night. Patrolman Mike Conklin said the one he chased was about "100 feet in diameter and glowed with a bright white light. It had a red area on top of it, as if it was overheated, and made a dull humming sound that increased in frequency as the object increased in speed."
The Cincinnati Post, page 1 October 17, 1973

Guest Blogger: John Lasker ‘The UFO invasion of October 1973′

Cheers.

Originally posted by JR0D51
Wow! What a story this would be if the Police actually shot at it!

My guess is that nothing would happen. I say take the shot. If it's an alien/time travel ship, then I doubt that anything could harm it, since it would have advanced materials or it wouldn't completely exist in this reality and the bullet would go right through. If it was kids or hunters or somebody like that, it would be sad for them to get shot, but the shooter would have a pretty good excuse, feeling their lives threatened, etc.

Take the shot.

Originally posted by Blue Shift
My guess is that nothing would happen. I say take the shot. If it's an alien/time travel ship, then I doubt that anything could harm it, since it would have advanced materials or it wouldn't completely exist in this reality and the bullet would go right through.

Hey Blue Shift, this pilot reports that he fired 64 explosive shells at a UFO with little or no effect so you may have a point there - I'm still glad the police officers didn't fire on the Red Bluff object though, it's just not polite.

I approached the object and strafed sixty-four 30 mm. shells at it. Some projectiles went towards the ground, and others hit the object fully, but they had no effect at all. The projectiles didn't bounce off; probably they were absorbed. The cone-shaped "wall of fire" that I sent out would normally obliterate anything in its path..

At this point, I came within about 300 feet of the UFO. It was about 30 feet in diameter. It was an enameled, cream-colored dome, with a wide, circular, metallic base. It had no engines, no exhausts, no windows, no wings or antennae. It lacked all the typical aircraft components, with no visible propulsion system.

Peruvian Air Force pilot shoots at UFO

Cheers.

Originally posted by JR0D51
Wow! What a story this would be if the Police actually shot at it!

JR0D51, I think it's a pretty darn fascinating story even though they didn't.

Cheers.