Redlands Police took flight in their first training session with officer observers for the department’s newly constituted Air Support Unit on Friday, June 1, and located a stolen vehicle hidden in a grove of orange trees.

The Friday afternoon flight was the first in the department’s Cessna 172 for a handful of officer observers who will assist the Air Support Unit on patrols and surveillance.

During the flight, the Air Support Unit was dispatched to assist in the search for a missing adult who was later found safe. While assisting with that search, Officer Cindy Gourlay, in the observer seat, noticed a 2000 Honda Civic hidden in the orange groves off of San Timoteo Canyon Road.

The air unit guided a motorcycle officer to the area, which was virtually invisible to ground-based units. The car was determined to have been stolen two days earlier in Redlands.

During the weekend training period, the Air Support Unit handled more than a dozen calls and in almost every instance, arrived on scene before officers on the ground.

In two cases the ASU guided officers to suspicious activity in canyon areas off of San Timoteo Canyon Road and Alessandro Road that would have been invisible from the ground.

On Monday afternoon, the ASU guided ground officers to the scene of an injury collision in a grove area off of Barton Road.

“While the Air Support Unit is still in a training status and not fully operational, this weekend’s activity has already underscored its value to the department and the citizens of Redlands,” said Police Chief Jim Bueermann, following the weekend training flights.

“The ability of the ASU to arrive on scene quickly and assess a situation, frequently well before ground-based units can get there, is an obvious asset. Couple that with the unique perspective that allows officers in the air to see suspicious activity hidden from officers on the ground and the tremendous benefits of the plane are already clear.”

The Air Support Unit will continue to fly a few hours of patrol this week, primarily training pilots and observers.

Once fully operational, the Air Support Unit will operate with volunteer pilots many of whom are retired law enforcement officers, and officer observers in a specially outfitted Cessna 172 that will provide patrol and surveillance support to Redlands Police officers and special units on the ground.

Supervisors have already cleared 10 veteran pilots with more than 33,000 hours of flight time among them to fly the plane and trained half of those in specific police procedures. There are currently more than 50 volunteer pilot applicants and several officer observers who will also be trained in police air support procedures.

The 18-month trial program will be paid for largely out of drug asset seizure funds, taken from local drug dealers, a portion of which is returned to the local law enforcement agency specifically for use in narcotics-related law enforcement purposes. The rest of the program will be funded with traffic impound funds, designated by law for use with traffic related enforcement and from private donations.

None of the program’s funding will come from the city’s General Fund, the money used to pay for traditional city obligations such as street maintenance and repair, tree trimming, police and firefighters and other personnel.

The Air Support Unit will fly approximately 800 to1,000 hours per year in a variety of duties, including patrolling the city’s streets, neighborhoods and canyon areas, assisting ground units and providing surveillance assistance to specialized units.

The Air Support Unit will serve as a force multiplier, dramatically increasing the crime control effectiveness of the Police Department’s current efforts.

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