Police airplane used to track suspect in security officer assault
Riverside County CA November 1 2018
A man had just assaulted a store security guard after a robbery in Corona on Sunday night, and police officers on the ground radioed for help finding the fleeing suspect.
Riverside police Pilot Jeff Ratkovich, flying above central Riverside with Corona police Officer Jake Westall, turned Riverside’s Cessna toward W. Sixth Street and S. Lincoln Avenue. The airplane, speedier than the helicopter that’s usually on patrol, arrived in about a minute. Westall, using an infrared sensor, spotted the running suspect, identified as 22-year-old transient David Gamez. Corona police moved in, with K9 Duke putting an end to the chase.
For Riverside police, the arrest was a milestone: It was the first arrest aviation officers participated in while flying the Turbo 206 Stationair on patrol after the city purchased the airplane last October. The airplane was obtained to use mostly for surveillance in narcotics and other investigations.
“I’m really excited about it. I’ve been a big proponent in using the airplane, not replacing the helicopter, but supplementing it,” Ratkovich said in an interview Tuesday, Oct. 30.
Police had taken the airplane out on patrol during the day a few times before launching it three nights last week, Ratkovich said. It’s more likely to fly after dark, he said, when there is less area airplane traffic. The plane, like the helicopter known as Air 1, was up Sunday to “demonstrate the feasibility of the plane in patrol duty,” Ratkovich said.
Corona benefits from the air patrols under a contract with Riverside.
Riverside police say the airplane is cheaper to fly than a helicopter because it can stay aloft twice as long — the helicopter must refuel every two hours — and is less costly to maintain. The estimated cost to operate a helicopter is more than $400 per hour vs. $190 per hour for the airplane, according to a Police Department report to the City Council.
The plane is equipped with a mapping system and a camera that can deliver sharp, high-resolution color images from 6 to 9 miles away to officers on the ground. It can fly higher and quieter than helicopters and tends to blend in with other airplane traffic, making it ideal for surveillance, police say. It’s not as valuable in some emergencies because it takes longer to prepare for flight than the helicopter, which can get off the ground at the department’s hangar in 2 minutes, Ratkovich said.
The city paid for the $982,870 airplane by selling one of its three helicopters and spending unused police vehicle lease funds, money in an evidence account and state asset forfeiture dollars.
“This gives us some unique capabilities,” Ratkovich said. “I think we’re going to see some incidents like this where bad guys aren’t going to realize we are there and we effect arrests we might not be able to do with the helicopter.
Press Enterprise
