Blog: Sheriff’s Helicopter Grounded Today; We Need It In North Escambia

February 27, 2009

The Escambia County Sheriff’s Department helicopter will take to the skies for the last time this evening. By 3 a.m. Saturday, it will be back in the hanger for the last time.

Escambia Sheriff David Morgan has grounded the department’s air unit. We understand his reason, and it is a big one. The air unit is costing the department about $800,000 a year, and times are tough. Like most everyone, Morgan must cut his budget, and the helicopter was on his radar.

We want to be very clear, we understand Morgan’s decision. NorthEscambia.com does not fault the decision at all.

“We looked for ways to keep the helicopter,” Morgan told NorthEscambia.com. “We even went to other law enforcement agencies that have used it and asked for help. No one wrote a check.”

“It came down to pulling patrols off the streets or grounding the helicopter. I could not take $800,000 worth of deputies off the streets,” the sheriff said.

Makes perfect sense to us, and we agree…$800,000 worth of deputies is better than an $800,000 helicopter program.

However, we believe it is time for someone to find the cash to get the copter back in the air as soon as possible. It is an item of special importance to us in North Escambia.

Why?

To understand the why, let’s look at the what.

In the just over a year that we’ve been publishing NorthEscambia.com, the helicopter has been used numerous times to search for criminals. Time after time, we have seen its effectiveness. Very few times has the helicopter missed finding the bad guy. The search is usually over very quickly, with the helicopter crew finding their man — or woman — within just minutes.

It’s been called to North Escambia to look for a lost hunter. It’s even been called to Century to look for a horse. A horse? It was a dark night when a black horse was running around Century, darting in an out of Highway 29. Deputies called for the helicopter to follow the horse so it could be “apprehended” before it was hit by a vehicle, possibly causing a serious injury or death.

In the basic call the helicopter to look for a criminal in North Escambia scenario, a guy runs from deputies. They setup a perimeter they begin a search with tracking dogs from Century Correctional Institute. The helicopter is called, the criminal is busted and we all sleep safer that night. It’s a very effective recipe.

The scenario works the same elsewhere in Escambia County, like say 9 Mile Road.  The perimeter is setup, and the sheriff’s department’s own tracking dogs are called.

But here’s the real difference. The perimeter in the rest of the county may be city blocks. Pretty easy to put a deputy on each corner and watch for the bad guy. But in North Escambia, that perimeter may be roads that are miles and miles apart. The bad guy may be in hundreds of acres of woods. The dogs are good, but they may not find the perp. The dogs and deputies will eventually give up if they can’t find him, and the bad guy will simply walk away.

Let’s look at another real possibility for us here in North Escambia. Little Johnny and his friends are playing. They wander into the woods. Darkness is falling, and they are lost. Mom calls 911. Deputies and tracking dogs can’t find Johnny. The helicopter would likely be able to find him in minutes. But it has been grounded. The scenario could end in unspeakable tragedy.

Little Johnny might be my child. Your child. Your grandchild. Or your elderly grandmother.

“But we saved $800,000.”

Is that going to make you feel better when you have lost your child? There is no price tag that can be put on a child.

If the helicopter saved the life of your child, $800,000 would be the most unimportant thing on earth.

Again, we do not fault Sheriff Morgan for his decision. He only has so many dollars to work with in his budget.

But it’s time for a solution to get the copter back in the air. Morgan’s budget comes from the county commission. Do they have an extra $800,000 lying around? Not without robbing Peter to pay Paul as the old saying goes. The commission is facing the same budget woes as everyone else.

Where will the money come from? We don’t have that answer. But with billions in economic stimulus money, millions and millions in Homeland Security grants and all that other federal money floating around, we need cash to keep the birdie in the air.

Oh, and to our dear friends in Baldwin County, Escambia County (Ala.) and Santa Rosa County…we are sure you have Sheriff Morgan’s address. You have called for Escambia County’s helicopter to assist you many times. Now we are calling for you to write a check and help pay for the services you have been receiving. The sheriff has asked, and now it is time for him to find a check in the mail.

After all, dear Santa Rosa County Commission, if you can give $125,000 to keep a failing zoo open, you can spend $125,000 to find a lost child.

The next time the helicopter is needed, it might be your child.

Comments

5 Responses to “Blog: Sheriff’s Helicopter Grounded Today; We Need It In North Escambia”

  1. Abbie on April 1st, 2009 10:20 pm

    I call rubbish!
    Let the Sheriff handle Esco how he needs Esco to be run. If he could better use the money without a helicopter, so be it.
    But, if you are going to pull the stupid, overused “think about the kids” card, then you go, and create a fund where people that want to “think about the kids” can donate toward the operation of that, or another helicopter to suit your needs.
    Do not, however, suggest for one moment that I should pay higher taxes because _you_ need a helicopter. That is your need, not mine. And when I “think about the kids” I think about my kids, that may have less to eat because daddy was paying for a helicopter. I also think of my kids that won’t have a daddy because their daddy is doing time because he could not afford to pay for a helicopter, and decided food was more important.
    So, you can argue about the helicopter all you want. I would rather just pay for the services I think I need, and not be forced to pay for unneeded equipment.

  2. A.W. THOMPSON on February 28th, 2009 12:25 am

    THE GHETTO BIRD HAS FINALLY WENT THE WAY OF THE CENTURY STREET SWEEPER.ABOUT TIME PEOPLE AROUND CENTURY AND FLOMATON GET TOO HAPPY WAY TOO OFTENAND CALL FOR THE BIRD AND LIFELITE .THOUSANDS ARE WASTED WHEN YOU CAN DRIVE FROM ONE SIDE OF THIS ITTY BITTY COUNTY IN LESS THAN HOUR.BUY SOME BULLETS AND GAS WITH ALL THE EXTRA. MONEY SAVED.SOUNDS LIKE THERES OTHER DEPTS IN THE COUNTY THAT CAN LEARN SOMETHING FROM OUR NEW SHERRIF YES FELLOW NORTH ESCAMBIERS CHANGE HAS COME AND IT IS A REFRESHING THING A.W THOMPSON MOSQUITO FLATS FLORIDA

  3. Rod on February 27th, 2009 4:03 pm

    I have been impressed with Sheriff Morgan so far. BUT,…. I think he is making a BIG mistake in grounding the Air Unit. Escambia County has an area of 876 square miles (total water and land) 662 sq. miles actual land mass. That is a very large area of responsibility.

    He should have looked for ways to trim back the helo expense before totally eliminating the service. They do not have to be airborne for long periods of time on patrol. He could have them “on standy” to launch for a rapid response when needed.

    He is giving up a modern law enforcement tool and degrading our level of
    protection, especially in the rural areas.

    Carry on citizens!

  4. Chuck on February 27th, 2009 12:51 pm

    The heli was absolutely a valuable albeit expensive tool. But there are other options to finding ” johnny” other than an 800,000.00 dollar bird. One very underused yet free tool is using the local volunteer search and rescue groups. These people of which I am a member have nationally certified K-9 s that are trained twice weekly in rural search settings to find adults, kids and even deceased persons. Yet we are not called upon in alot of circumstances because we are not thought about until later. I’ll be willing to bet that you were not aware of these groups. One thing that will be missed is that the bird was the platform for our Project Lifesaver antenna which would “home in” on alzeimers patients that were in this free program and were wearing a radio transmitter on their person. Many of these people had wandered off and were located quickly in al types of weather with this lifesaving device. Many of us in the volunteer K-9 groups live in norht escambia and can be on scene in minutes with various tracking and search tools.

  5. concerned citizen on February 27th, 2009 7:15 am

    Excellent commentary. It is time to help your neighbor who was always there for you when you needed them.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under Blog, News