Hey, If It's Up There Anyway...

A Washington State Patrol aircraft in the skies over Olympia this weekend helped bust a group of "taggers," people spraying graffiti on a freeway noise mitigation wall.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports an aircraft looking for drunk drivers along Interstate 5 Saturday night instead found a group of people doing something suspicious alongside the roadway. Forward-Looking Infra-red (FLIR) surveillance revealed members of the group were spraying graffiti near Boulevard Road.

A police cruiser was dispatched to the area at around 10 pm Saturday night, but officers couldn't see anything in the dark. However, the plane could... and the pilot onboard helped direct officers to where the tagging was underway.

"The last arrest of taggers using the FLIR system was less than a month ago, at the Mounts Road overpass in Pierce County, making this the fifth arrest within a month," reads a WSP statement. "The aircraft had been assisting troopers with a DUI emphasis when they spotted the taggers from the air and were able to lead troopers to the arrest of four subjects."

The P-I notes operational costs on the aircraft run around $244 per hour. Olympia Police said the damage to the wall will require about $700 to fix.

The taggers were arrested on charges of malicious mischief. If found guilty, the misdemeanor offense is punishable by up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

FMI: www.wsp.wa.gov