Law Enforcement Helicopters In Southwestern CT

[x635 4,066]

With the tragic shooting of the Norwalk Police Officer this morning, I noticed that both NYC and Westchester Police helicopters responded to aid in the search for the suspect.

Granted, Westchester County PD's Chopper can be there within moments, as we share a border, but does southwestern CT have a dedicated Law Enforcement helicopter available 24/7? You would think with the high crime cities, such as Norwalk and Bridgeport, the expanses of some jurisdictions, the Long Island Sound, and I-95, that CT SP would at least have one dedicated to the major part of the state. Especially with a major international helicopter manufacturer and repair/refurb facility located within the county!!

[emtpjimd 1]

CT State Police does have a chopper available 24/7, although if I'm correct they may have to call the crew in after a certain hour. Last I heard, it was stationed out fo Brainerd Airport in Hartford. There's also Eagle 1, which is a "volunteer" PD chopper (an old Vietnam-era Huey) staffed by Stratford and Fairfield PD Officers/Pilots (Based out of Sikorsky Airport in Bridgeport) . Again, notification times and the availability of personnel play into it....and that's if they are requested. If I have any of the little details wrong, anyone feel free to correct them.

[crk830 8]

With the tragic shooting of the Norwalk Police Officer this morning, I noticed that both NYC and Westchester Police helicopters responded to aid in the search for the suspect.

Granted, Westchester County PD's Chopper can be there within moments, as we share a border, but does southwestern CT have a dedicated Law Enforcement helicopter available 24/7? You would think with the high crime cities, such as Norwalk and Bridgeport, the expanses of some jurisdictions, the Long Island Sound, and I-95, that CT SP would at least have one dedicated to the major part of the state. Especially with a major international helicopter manufacturer and repair/refurb facility located within the county!!

Seth, I was working last night and once I heard the call I had the scanner on. The Ct. State police chopper was OOS. The next resource that PD IC asked for was Westchester Country with an Appox. 45 minute ETA. I believe that Westchester Country suggested calling NYPD who had an 30 minute ETA. We sent an engine to the closest high school to light up the area for both landings. Norwalk PD sent an officer up in each bird and each chopper left a portable that was sent to the command post. Our FD had an engine and our rescue on scene for the duration, our last unit cleared today around 14:30 hours.

[SageVigiles 1,194]

I think that CSP could definitely justify a second bird. We have 2 full-time medical helicopters in the state, why not 2 full-time police ones?

[ltjay157 10]

Simple, it comes down to costs. Lifestar is privately funded and recoups it's money to operate by billing you. I believe it costs a min of $1000 an hr to operate and then needs maintance after so many hrs of flight time. Right now, Trooper 1 is out for the next 3 weeks for mainatance (it's down for 5 weeks total and 2 have already past). Here's the links to Fairfield CT's Eagle 1.

www.fpdct.com/eagle_one.html

www.eagle-1.org (official page)

[Guest]

Suffolk County Police and Nassau County Police both have multiple helicopters with FLIR. They are closer than NYPD and are operated 24 hours a day.

[helicopper 1,050]

Simple, it comes down to costs. Lifestar is privately funded and recoups it's money to operate by billing you. I believe it costs a min of $1000 an hr to operate and then needs maintance after so many hrs of flight time. Right now, Trooper 1 is out for the next 3 weeks for mainatance (it's down for 5 weeks total and 2 have already past).

Relying on a single aircraft to cover the entire State of CT is a bit much. They could definitely justify additional aircraft/personnel to cover territory that large. It has a lot to do with the general lack of understanding/appreciation for what aviation can offer. Usually, in this part of the country, we only call aviation for "the big ones". However in other parts of the country, aviation responds on lots of jobs that aren't that big a deal. The result, a lot more bad guys get caught!

To give it a little bit more perspective, the CITY of Los Angeles has 17 police helicopters and operates 24/7/365 - from 0900-0100 (sometimes later) there is ALWAYS an aircraft in the air - they actually have to wait for a relief ship to launch before they can land! OK, LAPD is an animal of its own. Closer to home and much more moderately sized is the City of Columbus, Ohio who has FIVE helicopters staffed 24/7. Back on the left coast, the City of Huntington Beach (a city not much larger than Yonkers) also has five aircraft. We just don't give aviation the same treatment as the left side of the country. But that's nothing new and certainly not limited to aviation!

As for the cost, it is far less than $1000 per hour to operate a Bell 407 - closer to half that. Unfortunately, maintenance does take time and major inspections can take five weeks put CT in the unenviable position of being completely out of service when requests like Norwalk's come up.

Suffolk County Police and Nassau County Police both have multiple helicopters with FLIR. They are closer than NYPD and are operated 24 hours a day.

True, but both Nassau and Suffolk are primary MEDEVAC providers and may not be able to send their aircraft out of the county (out of the State in this case) due to their responsibilities as EMS ships. The NYPD has the luxury of more staffing and more aircraft so mutual aid is less of an issue to them.

(Did you think I was gonna let this topic get past me? )