Though Investigation Continues, Fellow Officers Remember

Baton Rouge Police Department disbanded its Air Support Unit after a helo crash killed 2 of its own last March.

The BRPD handed off the unit's hangar to the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office, whose deputies are making sure those lost won't be forgotten. The deceased, Sergeant David Poirrier and Corporal Scotty Canezaro were killed when their aircraft crashed during a pursuit, falling into a cane field at 0230 local time as they chased a hit & run suspect. The initially lackadaisical response to the crash shocked the department, as the officers were only understood to be missing in the late morning, more than 8 hours later. The department had no idea the officers had crashed, until a worried family insisted on a search.

The FAA initially suspected a tail rotor strike on obstacles close to the ground, but that narrative was walked back to 'unknown causes' when the preliminary report was released a few days after the crash. The investigations are ongoing at both the BRPD and the FAA. While the strike seemed likely, ADS-B shows a flight track that fits other modes of error just as well. Disorientation at night, close to the ground, in a Robinson R44 II may be just as likely. The track shows "a series of turns and altitude changes" before terminating at 1,450 AGL. Until the full investigation is completed, the fates of BRPD's finest will remain nebulous - but never forgotten.

The new tenants for the vacant Baton Rouge hangar have affirmed their commitment to remembering the fallen officers. The East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office published images of its small memorial to Poirrier and Canezaro, featuring a plaque, the helicopter’s tail number, and an IR cam controller pulled from their old aircraft.

“We had an outstanding work relationship with those guys and flew together often for static displays and frequently assisted each other with calls needed. We formed friendships that would last a lifetime, not knowing how short some of those would be,” said the Sheriff's office in a public statement. “When we took over the space, we were determined to allow the heritage of the flagship Air Unit in the city to never be forgotten. We wanted to forever honor the two friends we lost in March and always have a reminder of how dangerous our job can be.”

FMI: www.ebrso.org