Will Use Assets Seized From Drug Arrests To Buy R44

The Fontana, CA City Council has approved the purchase of a police version Robinson R-44 helicopter using assets siezed during drug arrests. The council Tuesday night approved $415,000 for the purchase of the aircraft, as well as $85,000 for the installation of upgraded law enforcement equipment.

R44 Police Variant File Photo

The move was not without its detractors. The Redlands Daily Facts reports that resident Craig Johnson spoke against using seized assets to pay for the aircraft. "Nobody should profit from crime," he told the council.

And the owner of the private company which has been the provider of helicopter services to the police department for nine years said the Fontana Police Department has underestimated the operating costs of owning its own aircraft. "I could not operate for some of the costs stated in that budget," Leo Bell, the owner of California Aviation Services in Riverside, CA, told the council prior to the vote.

Purchase of police aviation equipment is one of the approved uses of seized drug assets, according to Police Chief Rodney Jones. He told the paper he is hoping for participation from other nearby departments, such as Colton and Rialto. He also said owning the aircraft would make it easier for the department to obtain grants that could offset some of the operating expenses.

Jones also said he hopes to be one of the initial customers for the police version of Robinson's R66 turbine helicopter. That aircraft would cost the city $1.1 million even after early-adopter incentives are applied, but Jones said he hopes to again tap the seized assets fund for a down payment on the more powerful, larger aircraft, and then enter into a 15-year lease that would likely be paid off in three years.

The departments current contract with California Aviation Services is worth nearly $500,000 annually.

FMI: www.fontanapd.org, www.fontana.org