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APSA's E-Newsletter is designed to help keep you informed on the very latest information in the airborne law enforcement industry. Men Charged With Pointing Rifle at Helicopter
The men also began to throw rocks toward the helicopter, but it was too high to be affected by the rocks. The men went into the residence and returned with what was later found to be a Mouser rifle. The officers saw the suspect load the weapon and take aim at the helicopter. The helicopter quickly left the area and notified ground units to respond. No one was injured during the incident, and there was no damage to the helicopter. If the suspects are found guilty for their actions, they could face up to 25 years in prison. SOURCE: www.wistv.com Small Planes Collide in Colorado; No Injuries
"This is truly one of those miracles," said Allen Kenitzer of the Federal Aviation Administration. "Usually with a midair collision, you have very serious damage and very serious injuries, if you have survivors at all." One of the planes was a Mesa County (CO) Sheriff's Department single-engine Cessna 210 carrying two inmates, a deputy and a pilot. The other was a single-engine Cessna 180 with two people aboard. Authorities could not say which parts of the planes came in contact, describing it only as a collision. The cause is being investigated. Source: www.kansascity.com Two-year-old Air Patrol Program to Receive Award
SABLE is a partnership between Wilmington and Leland Police Departments as well as the Sheriff's Offices in Pender and Brunswick Counties, which started in January 2007. "It's (the award) a big deal to us," said chief pilot Ken Timms, a Wilmington police officer who flies the helicopters. "We're not a big unit. It gives us a little boost in our ego and credit for what we do." Source: www.starnewsonline.com
The Airborne Public Safety Association will take part in the International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference, November 9-11, in San Diego, CA. Stop by booth number 2820 and visit with President Dan Schwarzbach and Secretary Martin L. Jackson. State Police Aviation Command Resumes Flights
All flights were grounded after Trooper 2 crashed on approach to Andrew's Air Force Base killing four and seriously injuring a fifth on September 28. The helicopter had just picked up two auto accident victims and an EMT heading to the hospital. SOURCE: www.somd.com Man Gets Two Years for Aiming Laser at Helicopter
Dooley and his girlfriend later admitted using a green laser on the night of the incident. He was sentenced to two years imprisonment, and she is to be sentenced next month. The case is the product of an investigation conducted by the Bakersfield Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), comprised of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Kern County Sheriff's Department, and other local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies. Source: www.bakersfield.com
Sgt. Mike Davis, head of the Omaha (NE) Police Department's helicopter unit, said officials would receive one of two new choppers the city agreed to buy last year in November. The City of Omaha will spend $2.67 million for the two Bell 206B-3 light utility helicopters. The department currently has six military surplus helicopters: four are used for police activities and two are used for parts. The existing helicopters will eventually will be sold or used for training. SOURCE: www.omaha.com Two Helicopters to Assist SAPS
Receiving the helicopters, Safety and Security Minister Nathi Mthethwa said, "The procurement of these helicopters is a boost in the ongoing fight against crime. Our pilots are our valuable assets in crime fighting." Currently, the SAPS Air Wing operates thirteen BO 105 twin helicopters, two BK 117 twin helicopters, thirteen AS 350 helicopters and three Hughes 500 helicopters throughout the country for airborne law enforcement. According to the minister, the helicopters will be deployed throughout the country wherever the need arises for air support. The SAPS has been training their pilots as part of a Designated Pilot Training Program for the last four years to equip them with the expertise to fly these helicopters. The SAPS will, by the end of this year, receive four more helicopters. SOURCE: www.buanews.gov.za Pot Plants Seized & Destroyed
A sheriff's helicopter flying over the area spotted the plants, and that information was passed on to the Sheriff's Tactical and Reconnaissance Team who cut their way through 20 yards of brush to reach the marijuana garden. Investigators estimated the street value of the plants at $2.4 million. The plants had been harvested and strung up to dry. In another week, the marijuana would have been ready for packaging and sales. Inside the growing site was a makeshift camp with two wells to water the plants and an area for cooking and sleeping. SOURCE: www.modbee.com Spalding Sheriff Chopper Comes Under Fire
The FBI is investigating the shooting. Spalding County Special Operations Captain Novin Darsey said the incident could have been much worse. "It could have caused the aircraft to explode in the air," he said. Smith said he hopes whoever shot at him realizes that magnitude of their actions. "Whoever was shooting at this machine, this machine is flown by real live people with real live families. This is not fun and games," he said. SOURCE: www.11alive.com Agency to Scale Back Air Patrols
Anticipated budget cuts to the sheriff's office for the current fiscal year have forced the air unit to scale down its daily patrol from four-and-a-half hours to just one-and-a-half, Duke said. The unit has accordingly had to shift from a patrol actively seeking problem situations, to a reactive one limited mostly to taking off only after receiving a service call. The unit's two tactical flight officers and two pilots must now condense a multitude of duties in the shortened patrol, which covers a 750 square-mile area and 240 miles of shoreline. The air support unit was founded in 1996 with the purchase of a $1.2 million, seven-seat Bell 407 anointed as Sheriff's Tactical Airborne Reconnaissance and Rescue One, or STARR 1 for short. In 2007, asset seizure funds allowed the purchase of a smaller Bell 206 Jet Ranger, named STARR 2. The program has an annual cost of about $800,000, but that could be slashed by 20 percent this year once the sheriff's office begins offsetting an $8.3 million budget reduction. For many neighboring police departments, STARR is still the primary air support. "We use them all the time," Antioch police Lt. Robin Kelly said. “Following criminals would be much tougher without the two helicopters,” she said. SOURCE: www.contracostatimes.com Helicopters Used in Operation Safe Ride
It's also a way for police and troopers to work together when trying to pull over a driver. "In the event that the motorist chooses not to yield to the police officer,” says Missouri Highway Patrol Corporal Dan Wohnoutha. “The helicopter is already in the air, in the area, and most of the time has already identified the vehicle.” SOURCE: www.ktts.com Czech Police Receive Last of Purchased Helicopters
As of the beginning of next year, police pilots will reduce their participation in the helicopter emergency medical service while they will strengthen their cooperation with firefighters, traffic police and the mountain rescue service. The Police Aviation Service will have a total of 12 helicopters, including seven EC light choppers and five medium Bell helicopters. The Police Aviation Service is a specialized unit operating across the country. Its pilots search for missing persons and dangerous criminals, fly jointly with the border guards, participate in the search for stolen cars and in the regulation of road traffic. Police helicopters are used during big fires, floods and other disasters. Source: www.praguemonitor.com Surplus Chopper Finds Home in Kansas The Kansas City Police Department received a surplus helicopter from the U.S. Army last month. The special operations helicopter is being delivered on a semi-tractor trailer and will join the department's fleet of four helicopters. The 1972 helicopter is valued at $200,000 and has a better engine than those currently in the department's fleet. Besides having more power, the engine can be rebuilt, saving the department money. The engines in the department's existing helicopters, which are all military surplus, must be replaced after 1,000 hours of flight time. Capt. Pat Grove, commander of the Kansas City Police Department's Patrol Support Unit, said in a release that a new helicopter without police equipment would cost about $1.5 million. SOURCE: www.kansascity.com Rescue of Drowning Man Called Exemplary
Source: www.dailypilot.com Call For Nominations
Southeast Region Safety Seminar Heads to Florida University The Alachua County (FL) Sheriff's Office and the Gainesville (FL) Police Joint Aviation Unit will host the 2008 APSA Southeast Region Safety Seminar at the Hilton University of FL Conference Center on February 2 - 4, 2009. Join your fellow airborne law enforcement professionals for two days of education and networking. Among classes being held will be accident response planning, critical infrastructure patrol, fuel safety, safety management systems, sleep deprivation, spatial disorientation/vertigo and water survival training. Don't delay. Register now at www.alea.org/public/seminars/central/ or call 301-631-2406 for information. |
A South Carolina man and his two sons were taken into custody after pointing a rifle at a State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) helicopter and the officers inside last month. Ground officers were conducting an investigation and contacted SLED for a helicopter to fly the area. When the officers began flying the area around the suspect residence, three men began waving their arms at the helicopter and making obscene gestures toward the officers inside.
A Mesa County (CO) Sheriffs Department's airplane carrying inmates collided with another small craft in the air over western Colorado last month, but both landed safely and no injuries were reported.
The Wilmington Police Department's two-helicopter unit, or Southeastern North Carolina Airborne Law Enforcement (SABLE), will receive an aviation award from the International Association of Chiefs of Police. It will be presented at their national conference in San Diego this month.
APSA Exhibits at IACP
The Maryland State Police Aviation Command resumed helicopter operations at six of its eight sections last month. Officials at the Aviation Command hope to have all eight sections operational as soon as possible.
Jared James Dooley, 28, plead guilty to intentionally pointing a powerful green laser at a Kern County (CA) Sheriff's Department helicopter, according to a news release from the office of U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott. The incident happened in November 2007 when the helicopter was flying 500 feet above ground level during a routine patrol. The light disoriented the pilot, who pinpointed the laser as coming from Dooley's residence. A search warrant was served and two lasers were found, one in the residence and one in a pickup.
Omaha Gets New Police Helicopter
The South African Police Service (SAPS) received two new state-of-the-art helicopters to assist in the fight against crime last month. According to SAPS, the R44 helicopters will be used for crime prevention flights, specialized operations, intelligence-driven operations, and recovery of stolen vehicles as well as for monitoring big events such as the upcoming 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Merced County (CA) Sheriff's Department officials seized and destroyed about 6,000 marijuana plants hidden behind thick vegetation in a field just inside the Los Banos State Wildlife Management Area last month.
Shotgun pellets hit a police helicopter on a drug eradication mission in Georgia last month. Spalding County Special Agent Brian Smith has flown hundreds of marijuana surveillance missions, but never like the one when his helicopter came under fire. "It was several loud quick tapping noises on the underside of the helicopter. From what I heard, I thought there would be a lot more damage than what there is, so I immediately made a precautionary landing," he said. The underside of the chopper was littered with small dents that were most likely from shotgun pellets. The helicopter's tail also suffered minor damage.
With budget cuts whittling the amount of time the Contra Costa (CA) County Sheriff's Office Air Unit's two helicopters can fly, many of its services — from guiding pursuits and plucking stranded boaters to assisting searches for missing persons and fleeing suspects — are going to be harder to come by next year. "These cuts directly affect our ability to perform rescues, find persons, apprehend the bad guys," sheriff's Lt. Will Duke said in a news report last month.
The Springfield Police Department, the Missouri Highway Patrol and the Greene County Sheriff's Department are all working together to crack down on bad drivers. Last month, the highway patrol used its helicopter to find reckless drivers during the Operation Safe Ride Program.
The Czech Police Aviation Service received the last of the eight Eurocopter light helicopters ordered in 2003. However, police pilots will only use seven helicopters, as they want to sell the eighth one equipped for medevac missions.
Newport Beach and Costa Mesa (CA) police officers flying their joint Eagle police helicopter coordinated the rescue of a Santa Ana man drowning off Newport Beach last month. They were called to rescue a man who fell off a rock while fishing and floated out to sea. The pilots flew to the area and soon located a young man floating face down in the water about 20 yards off shore. Orange County Sheriff's Office Harbor Patrol soon arrived and pulled him aboard. Authorities resuscitated the man with CPR. The officers' role in the rescue was exemplary and many local officials are calling for local recognition of the crew.
The nomination period for APSA elected offices to serve the term of July 2009 through July 2011 is open until December 15, 2008. Nominations are being accepted for the offices of President, CFO, Central Region Director, 
