Wednesday, September 11, 2002
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Wednesday, September 11, 2002 |
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Sheriff goes airborne with new helicopter By JOHN MUNFORD
To get a birds-eye view for catching criminals and help make police chases safer, the Fayette County Sheriff's Department has purchased a helicopter. The air unit recently began patrolling the county this week, according to sheriff's officials. Department officials are rewriting chase policies to allow ground units to slow down pursuits once the observational helicopter is in place, said Maj. Bruce Jordan, director of investigations. While recent high speed chases helped "accelerate" the department's plans to start an aviation unit, heavy traffic that slowed down normal response also played a role in the decision, Jordan said, noting that a helipad is in the plans for the county's justice center that's nearing completion. For violent crimes on the north end of the county, it can take a patrol car up to 15 minutes to get to the scene, where the air unit will be able to make the trip more quickly, Jordan said. "I am very proud of this," said Fayette County Sheriff Randall Johnson. "It's something we've been looking at for a while." Johnson credited the department's drug task force for bringing in the funds for the helicopter. So far this year, the drug task force has seized $4 million from alleged drug dealers, and it gets to keep a percentage of those funds. Jordan cited a 1998 study from the U.S. Department of Justice that showed helicopters can decrease the use of high-speed pursuits and increase apprehension rates. Until now, Fayette County was the only sheriff's department in surrounding counties without an air patrol unit, Jordan said. The helicopter, which will feature two part-time pilots and a spotter, will also be used for regular patrol and drug suppression activities, Jordan said. "We'll target certain times," when chases and violent crime are more likely to happen, Jordan said. On routine patrol, the air unit will focus on hot spots around the county for theft and burglary, he added. In several months, the department will add a full-time pilot. The funds for the additional personnel will come out of the sheriff's department's current funding with no increases necessary, Jordan added. The chief pilot, Bill Riley, has logged over 30,000 hours flight time, Jordan noted. The helicopter will be flown to Fayetteville daily from its base at the Coweta County airport, where it will be stationed in free hangar space with the Georgia Department of Corrections, Jordan said. Fayette County will share in maintenance expenses with the Department of Corrections, Jordan said. Once in Fayetteville, after going through a daily preflight checklist, it will take just 60 seconds for the helicopter to become airborne when needed, Jordan said. Although the helicopter has room for five persons, a maximum limit of four will be allowed for insurance purposes and typically only the pilot and spotter will be airborne, Jordan said. The $160,000 purchase price for the Bell OH-58 came from the department's drug forfeiture fund, meaning criminals are paying for the tool and not taxpayers, Jordan said. The aircraft was purchased from the New Hampshire State Patrol, which recently spent approximately that amount to refurbish the unit, he added. "Had we not had a drug squad that's so effective, we would not have a helicopter," Jordan said. The unit will first be on public display at the annual Tyrone Founder's Day parade, Jordan said. Although Jordan has a helicopter pilot's license himself, he will not fly it much, he said.
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