ALEA’s E-Newsletter is designed to help keep you informed on the very latest information in the airborne law enforcement industry. The E-Newsletter may also be read online here at our website.

Officer Died In Line Of Duty

Missouri State Highway Patrol Pilot Sgt. Joseph “Joe” Schuengel, 47, was killed last month when his helicopter crashed. Schuengel had dropped off several other troopers and was returning to the Spirit of St. Louis Airport when the Bell 206B helicopter experienced a probable mechanical failure. It is believed that he was able to maneuver the aircraft to avoid nearby houses before crashing into a residential street. No one on the ground was hurt. Residents and emergency crews immediately responded to the scene, but Sergeant Schuengel had been killed on impact.

Sergeant Schuengel had served with the Missouri State Highway Patrol for 17 years and is survived by his mother and three sisters. He was laid to rest on October 20, surrounded by his family and a larger family of hundreds of law enforcement officers. "Joe loved being a trooper," said his nephew Mark Azzam during a eulogy. "He was well-suited for it, too. He was responsible, caring, dedicated and selfless. Being a trooper wasn’t just a job, it was his life."

Source: Missouri State Highway Patrol

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Delaware Marks 40 Years of Service

2010 marks the 40th anniversary for the Delaware State Police (DSP) Aviation Section. To celebrate, the Aviation Section invited the public to attend its Open House on October 16. Current and past members of the DSP Aviation Section were present as the public toured their newly expanded, state-of-the-art facilities.

The Delaware State Police launched itself into the airborne law enforcement arena in 1956 by renting a single-engine Cessna airplane. It wasn’t until 1970, however, that the Delaware State Police actually formed an Aviation Section. What started as a part-time operation utilizing a rented aircraft has grown into a high-tech division comprised of three Bell 407s, one Bell 412 and a single-engine Cessna fixed-wing aircraft with 25 employees.

Photos of DSP’s aircraft through the years to present can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zfR29jWeqU.

Source: www.helihub.com

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Houston Celebrates Agency Milestone

The Houston (TX) Police Department's (HPD) Air Support Division, the second largest municipal police air support unit in the country, celebrated its 40th anniversary of operations last month with a two-day event. On Thursday, October 22nd, they hosted an “Open Hangar” which was attended by over 225 city and department dignitaries, associates, vendors and former employees. This event featured live video downlink demonstrations, a fajita lunch and the 1st Annual HPD Vision Awards sponsored by FLIR Systems, Inc. ALEA President Martin Jackson was on hand to present a proclamation recognizing 40 years of airborne law enforcement excellence. He also presented a proclamation and 40 year membership pin to retired division sergeant Richard Wilson.

On the following evening, over 200 current and former division employees and family members returned to the hangar for a reunion barbeque dinner. Videos documenting the history of the unit and highlighting the maintenance staff were presented. The keynote speaker for the evening was NASA astronaut Mario Runco, veteran of three shuttle flights and a former New Jersey State Trooper.

Houston and ALEA have enjoyed a long-time, mutually beneficial relationship. Houston is the only city to host three ALEA Annual Conferences & Expositions, including the inaugural event in 1970. Houston was also recently chosen as one of the three core cities to host future conferences. In addition, members of their Air Support Division have held every position on the ALEA Board.  

Source: Houston (TX) Police Department

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Alabama Agency Hits The Big 40

When the Tuscaloosa (AL) Police Department Air Patrol first took to the skies in 1970, it had one of Alabama’s only police aviation units. Forty years later, the aviation unit remains one of the department’s most visible presences, patrolling the airspace around Tuscaloosa several hours each day.

Lt. John Nichols, the unit’s senior pilot, said the department’s Bell OH-58 helicopters can be airborne within five minutes of an emergency call, but much of the unit’s work focuses on preventive patrols. Nichols said he thinks taxpayers get a good return on their investment. “We make a difference,” he said. “We do a lot of good from up there.”

The funding to create the aviation unit came from a federal grant. When the aviation unit upgraded to its current helicopters in 1995, the city spent $500 on six helicopters, four of which were used for spare parts.

Source: www.tuscaloosanews.com 

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Aviation Unit Going Strong After 40 Years

Celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2010, the Riverside (CA) Police Department (RPD) is upping its game with new equipment, new helicopters and a dedicated full-time SWAT team. Responsible for 120 square miles of territory, the Aviation Unit’s resources and talent have proven their benefits repeatedly during the past 40 years.

Budgetary restrictions are a fact of life for airborne police units nationwide and RPD’s Aviation Unit has temporarily cut back its annual flying hours from the budgeted 3,000 to about 2,200 hours. Upgrading to a newer all MD 500E fleet, with standardized equipment, will be a definite plus and the Aviation Unit is currently working on a grant for NVG equipment and training for pilots. “Our police helicopters give us a unique and valuable perspective from the air,” said senior pilot Dave Mullins. “Like our SWAT team’s new armored vehicle, they can be huge psychological stimulators to the bad guys who are in our sights.”

Source: Riverside (CA) Police Department

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Police Receive Donation of Robinson Helicopter

The Yavapai County (AZ) Sheriff's Office (YCSO) received a very big donation last month to help with daytime search and rescue efforts. Guidance Helicopters, Inc. gave the department a 2005 model Robinson R44 Raven II helicopter.

Commander Scott Mascher, a fixed-wing aircraft pilot, said he had talked with John Stonecipher, the president and CEO of Guidance Helicopters, about YCSO contracting with Guidance Helicopters for a pilot and helicopter to help during searches. Stonecipher suggested his company donate a helicopter to YCSO instead.

"This donation, valued at $180,000 by Guidance Helicopters, is the single largest donation ever to be given to the YCSO," Yavapai County Sheriff Steve Waugh said. The price for this model helicopter outfitted with GPS and the other equipment it has is about $460,000.

YCSO has applied for $100,000 in grant money from the Public Safety Stabilization Program through the Arizona Governor's Office of Economic Recovery and plans to use $150,000 in drug seizure money to refurbish and outfit the aircraft.

"We saw the county had a need, and we were fortunate to help out," Stonecipher said. "We want to be a good steward to the community. It was an opportunity to give back to the community, since our business has been so well received."

Source: www.prescottdailycourier.com

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Man Charged With Pointing Laser At Police Chopper

A 25-year-old man will face charges of interfering with the operation of an aircraft after being accused of pointing a laser at a Columbus (OH) Division of Police helicopter last month. The charge is a second-degree felony that carries a possible sentence of up to eight years.

The police helicopter was following a burglary suspect at about 1:15 a.m. when pilot, Officer Greg Kellough, noticed the laser in the cockpit. He sharply steered the helicopter away from the light, but not before his co-pilot was also temporarily blinded. "It's an intense, momentary illumination of the cockpit," Kellough said.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration's most recent count, 1,527 laser beam incidents were reported nationwide among pilots last year, compared with 283 in 2005. "Anytime you pose a threat to the eyesight of a pilot, you have a safety risk," said FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory.

Source: www.dispatch.com  

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Night Vision Awards Nominees Wanted

Aviation Specialties Unlimited (ASU) will be initiating and sponsoring its inaugural Night Vision Awards to recognize individuals for proven leadership in night vision operations, beginning at Heli-Expo 2011.

“ASU has been pioneering the advancement of night vision operations for 15 years,” said Mike Atwood, founder and ASU President. “We have seen many companies and individuals working hard to advance safety for their communities by utilizing night vision systems. We want to recognize them for their efforts.” ASU will give awards for the following categories: 5-year service award; 10-year service award; community awareness award; international advancement award; and mark of excellence award. Nominations are being accepted now.

Awards will be given out at Heli-Expo, ALEA and AMTC every year for recipients in civil operations, airborne law enforcement and emergency medical flights, accordingly. Any flight operation using night vision systems will be eligible to be nominated. For additional information about the awards or to obtain nomination forms, call 208-426-8117 or e-mail info@asu-nvg.com. 

Source: Aviation Specialties Unlimited

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Live Mapping System Given To Denver Police

For years, airborne law enforcement teams have wrestled with synchronizing the images on their video screens with coordinates on paper maps as they directed the movements of ground units below them. The Augmented Reality System (ARS) is a dynamic real-time mapping system that gives airborne law enforcement crews the ability to overlay street maps and other data on live video with a touch of a computer screen, making coordination with ground units more effective and efficient.

For ARS to function aboard dynamic platforms like helicopters, ARS developers Churchill Navigation and Paravion Technology, Inc., required a precision position and navigation system immune to vibration and lightweight enough for airborne use. They found the solution in the existing KVH CNS-5000 inertial navigation system, but it needed modifications specific to airborne law enforcement.

For its participation in development and willingness to test the system, the Denver (CO) Police Department's Air Support Unit received one of the first fully functional versions of the KVH CNS-5000 system, which it uses every day. According to Churchill, "Before ARS, airborne police units struggled to follow the action below while looking between two video screens, one with moving-map technology and one with a live image. For others, there was only the live image and a map book. Either way, it was an increased workload that affected the efficiency of the whole onboard crew. Now, law enforcement agencies are shocked that they can watch a person on live video walk into a house and see the address displayed on their screen directly above the roof, thanks to the KVH CNS-5000."

To learn more about this application, visit www.kvh.com/whitepapers or watch a video http://www.kvh.com/Press-Room/KVH-Blogs/Blog/2010/Eye-in-the-Sky.aspx of ARS in action above Denver.

Source: www.kvh.com

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Washington Agency Communicates Activities Online

The Spokane County (WA) Sheriff’s Office is now providing a log of their Air Support Unit’s activities on its website http://www.spokanecounty.org/Sheriff/airsupport/incidentreports.aspx.

“Area residents frequently contact media for information after hearing Air One circling their neighborhood at night or seeing it above during daytime searches,” the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release last month. Crews are aiming to update the log at the end of each flight, although some sensitive material, such as assistance to active police investigations, will not be included.

The Air Support Unit was established in 2005 with a Bell OH-58 surplus helicopter, designated “Air-1”. Since then, the Air Support Unit has provided valuable search and rescue, fugitive searching, fire suppression, surveillance, homeland security critical infrastructure checks, natural disaster damage assessment and patrol services to the Inland Northwest.

Source: www.spokanecounty.org  

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Maryland State Police To Acquire Six Aircraft

Last month, Maryland State Police Aviation Command awarded a contract to AgustaWestland to provide six AW139 helicopters. The $71 million contract calls for the first AW139 to be delivered in 18 months. These aircraft will be produced at AgustaWestland’s Philadelphia, PA production facility.

“We are extremely proud to have been selected by the Maryland State Police Aviation Command to provide the AW139 as their fleet replacement aircraft,” said Louis Bartolotta, Executive Vice President North America Sales. “We are honored to be selected for this award and look forward to supporting the State of Maryland and its citizens for many years to come.”

With this new fleet of AW139’s, Maryland State Police Aviation Command will have expanded capability to more fully meet their emergency medical, search and rescue, law enforcement and homeland security missions.

Source: www.agustawestland.com

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Florida Teenager Shines Laser at Aircrew

A 17-year-old was arrested after he shined a laser light at a Martin County (FL) Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) Aviation Unit helicopter last month. A MCSO spokeswoman said aviation deputies were on routine patrol in their OH-58 shortly after midnight when they reported a green light shining into their eyes. Deputies on the ground later located the teenager riding a bicycle with a green laser light in his pocket. The teen was arrested on a charge of misuse of a laser lighting device, a third-degree felony.

Source: www.wpbf.com

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New AS350 Flight and Mission Simulator Debuts

American Eurocopter unveiled a technologically advanced, single-engine helicopter flight and mission simulator last month. During the launch event at the company's Training Center, more than 100 customers, industry personnel and media were on hand to view the new AS350 simulator and usher in a new era of training for helicopter pilots and crews.

"Safety is our number one priority and to help ensure the safe operation of our aircraft, we have made a significant investment in the development of our simulators," said Marc Paganini, American Eurocopter President and CEO. The simulator is convertible from AS350 B2 to AS350 B3 and it is equipped with a full-motion platform, a full cabin for "true" CRM training, VEMD, NVG, auto pilot, FLIR Star Safire III (including hand controller, TV and IR mode), moving map functionality, and a Spectrolab SX-16 slaved searchlight.

Airborne law enforcement training packages are available now. Contact Andy Litteral at 972-641-5091 or andy.litteral@eurocopterusa.com for more information.

Source: American Eurocopter

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Korean Police Agency Accept First New HD System

The first production version of FLIR Systems’ new Star SAFIRE 380-HD system was installed and flight-accepted by the Korean National Police Agency on its Bell 412ST last month. The sensors’ single-LRU configuration and FLIR’s new common interface is the latest in FLIR’s Star SAFIRE line of full-HD systems.

Introduced by FLIR in 2007, the full-HD Star SAFIRE is the first and only system that provides full high-definition, digital video from all its sensors, including daylight color, infrared and low-light TV. “Our customers are very conscious and appreciative of the technical leadership represented by this line of products and their flight-tested ability to outperform much larger systems in the 20-inch class,” said Bill Sundermeier, President of FLIR’s Government Systems Division.

 Source: FLIR Systems

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Department Completes Transition To Eurocopter Fleet

The Suffolk County (NY) Police Department (SCPD) Aviation Section took delivery of its third AS350 B2. SCPD’s fleet of four also includes an EC145. The new helicopter replaces another that was sold in order to upgrade to the AS350 B2.

“We chose another AS350 B2 because the aircraft gives us the power, reliability, size and advanced technology we need to perform our varied missions. With this helicopter, we have been able to standardize our fleet and we are now operating only Eurocopter aircraft,” said Sergeant Brian Barrett, Commanding Officer SCPD Aviation Section. “We made the decision to standardize our fleet in order to take advantage of the training and maintenance benefits, as well as to minimize our aircraft on ground situations.” The unit’s AS350 B2s primarily perform airborne law enforcement missions, but due to the aircraft’s cabin-size and flexibility, they are also able to fulfill EMS missions in a backup role.

Source: American Eurocopter

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UK Aircraft Reaches Flight Hour Milestone

West Yorkshire Police Air Operations Unit, operating a MD Explorer, reached the record of 12,600 flight hours as of mid-September. The flight hours exceed any other MD Explorer, with Humberside (UK) Police Authority having recently announced that their MD Explorer now exceeds 10,000 hours.

The Air Operations Unit uses the MD Explorer to provide 24/7 police coverage over a 785-square mile area, while completing approximately 4,500 missions a year. Missions include tracking down offenders, drug enforcement checks, locating vulnerable missing persons and stolen vehicles. The average response time for all missions is five minutes.

Unit Executive Officer John Whittaker said, “We took delivery of ship 078 in 2000, and it went operational in February 2001. G-YPOL, as we refer to the aircraft, has always performed to the highest level and proved to be a very popular aircraft with all our pilots and crew. We keep asking for more, and G-YPOL simply just delivers. She has met every challenge asked of her.”

Source: MD Helicopters, Inc. 

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Budget Cuts Force Dallas Police to Retire Aircraft

The Dallas (TX) Police Department Helicopter Unit will soon be down to only two helicopters, a result of the city's budget crisis. In 2007, the department acquired a top-of-the-line Bell 407 helicopter, capable of deploying its SWAT team. It is the newest and most capable aircraft, but upkeep is expensive and the cash-strapped city plans to sell it.

"The fact that it is a financial strain, it's the right thing to do," said Dallas Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway. "We are not completely without helicopters; we'll have to make this adjustment now." But sources within the department say losing a tactical chopper before a big event like Super Bowl XLV is a big problem. Besides deploying SWAT, it could also be used for possible evacuation of hostages, officers and firefighters, if needed.

Source: www.wfaa.com

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Get Involved: Nomination Period For ALEA Board Positions Open

The nomination period for ALEA elected offices to serve the term of July 2011 through July 2013 is open until December 15, 2010. Nominations are being accepted for the offices of President, Chief Financial Officer, Central Region Director, Canadian Region Director, and Southeast Region Director. To see if you qualify or to nominate someone, contact ALEA Secretary Gregg Weitzman at secretary@alea.org. Don’t delay, make your nominations known today!

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Send your press releases, company logos and photos to:

Lisa Wright
Editorial Director
airbeat@alea.org

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ALEA’s Monthly E-Newsletters are designed to help keep you informed on the very latest information in the airborne law enforcement industry. Our E-Newsletters are distributed by email, as an additional benefit to our membership. Anyone may join our mailing list.

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This newsletter is published monthly by the Airborne Law Enforcement Association (ALEA), a public benefit, non-profit California corporation. The ALEA is comprised of air crew and air support personnel in law enforcement and others who support, promote, and advance the safe and effective use of aircraft by law enforcement agencies.

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