Oklahoma City to purchase new police helicopter
The council of Oklahoma City have approved the purchase of the police helicopter at a meeting on Tuesday 6 December
The purchase of the new police helicopter is expected to cost around US$3.7 million, will be funded through a ‘use tax fund’, according to a report by local broadcaster KWTV-DT (Channel 9). It was approved in a 6-1 vote.
Oklahoma City Chief of Police Wade Gourley, speaking to the council ahead of the vote, argued that a new helicopter could be used to assist in missing person searches, stand-offs and pursuits in the city, and could also be used to assist law enforcement officers in other parts of the state of Oklahoma.
Oklahoma City Police Department’s Air Support Unit, established in 1973, currently operates a fleet of two Airbus H125 helicopters purchased in 2014. The unit employs eight pilots, one lieutenant and two civilian technicians.
The city councils of Atlanta, Georgia, and Cook County, Illinois, have also approved the purchase of new police helicopters in the past month.
Oliver Cuenca
Oliver Cuenca is a Junior Editor at AirMed&Rescue. He was previously a News and Features Journalist for the rail magazine IRJ until 2021, and studied MA Magazine Journalism at Cardiff University. His favourite helicopter is the AW169 – the workhorse of the UK air ambulance sector! He also led the creation of Waypoint: The AirMed&Rescue podcast, serving as its Production Editor and co-host.