Earlier this year, Officers Welch and Murphey, with the Garland Air Support Unit, assisted in the search for a parole violator. K-9 units were already on the ground searching.

At my request, they agreed that I could share a video that they made as part of their routine procedures. I have edited the video for length and reduced it significantly in size to save bandwidth so, in fairness, it's not nearly as good as the original but I think it conveys the story well.

Click picture to view video
(Windows Media Player)

Police and K-9 officers searching

 
As anyone can see, a helicopter can be a tremendous tool. In this case, the suspect, dressed in black, would probably have eventually escaped. The K-9 officers would be challenged to find someone on a roof. Once the suspect was spotted from the air and the K-9 units alerted, he had no chance of escape. The pilots were able to vector the ground units directly to the suspect. The controlled situation would have been safer for the officers and the suspect because there were no surprises.

I have posted on the helicopter several times. To review, see:
     Downsizing the Helicopter Program
     Helicopter Issue Soaring
     Red Light Funds in the Red
     Visiting the Garland Air Unit

I don't support using the SafeLight funds for this program for the reasons stated in my previous posts, but I do hope that the Council will give the program proper review as part of the budgeting process. This is what should have been done last year but politics interfered. With this new Council, I hope those days are behind us.

UPDATE: Link added to a previous post on the SafeLight program (Red Light Funds in the Red) that details the current failure of the program to meet projections.

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