Merced County Sheriff’s Department and Silver State
Helicopters are at Heli Expo 2004 Booth 34 with their successful
new airborne law enforcement service. Using a R44 Raven II Police
Helicopter, Silver State designed a unique program to bring
helicopter operations to police departments unable to afford their
own aircraft.
What makes this program unique is the allocation of helicopter
time. Based in Las Vegas, the R44 Police Helicopter and pilot fly
monthly to Merced, Calif. and work for five consecutive days,
without a maximum limit on flight hours. The aircraft then returns
to Las Vegas or moves on to other contracts. This service is
offered at a low rate, allowing law enforcement agencies to
experience the benefits of airborne support without the massive
capital investment. The agencies are free to increase their monthly
allotment or request a helicopter all month at anytime. Silver
State provides both aircraft and pilot.
“We talk to a lot of sheriffs who believe they need a big
turbine helicopter, so they go without while they try to raise the
funds,” explains Tim Nelson, Silver State law enforcement
pilot and sworn
police officer. “When we put them in the R44 they go crazy.
They can’t believe it has the speed, visibility, and range of
a turbine at one-third the price.
Since the helicopter began operating in November 2003 it has
made a large impact on Merced County. The R44 helped police
apprehend gang members, find a missing 2-year-old girl, and recover
important incriminating evidence. “The FLIR is an important
piece of equipment that makes this program successful,”
Nelson says. “We used the helicopter to follow a shooting
suspect until he was apprehended, then flew back along his path
with the FLIR looking for a weapon. We found the gun in a ditch. It
glowed bright on the FLIR, still hot from being
discharged.”
Merced County Sheriff Sergeant Nathan Todd sees the helicopter
as a money saver for the agency. “It is working out really
well. It’s cost effective for us, but we don’t have to
pay the bills to maintain it. In fact, because we have the aircraft
we can contain a larger area with less personnel. We’re
saving money. I can’t believe we’ve been going so long
without a helicopter and we may now even expand.”
Silver State chose the R44 Police Helicopter for this program
due to its cost, equipment, and flexibility. “It has the
equipment we need to provide first class service; FLIR,
searchlight, video recorder, radios, and scanner. We can go from
one department contract to the next and all we have to do is
reprogram the police frequencies in the radio,” Nelson
explains.