Posted 12:03 am Thursday, June 18, 2009
Senate Bill Would Allow Purchase Of DPS Helicopter
By KENNETH DEAN
Staff Writer
It is a tool many East Texas law enforcement agencies say has been needed for a long time and if Governor Rick Perry signs the Senate Appropriations Bill into law then a helicopter will be assisting departments in the efforts to combat crime.
Staff Writer
It is a tool many East Texas law enforcement agencies say has been needed for a long time and if Governor Rick Perry signs the Senate Appropriations Bill into law then a helicopter will be assisting departments in the efforts to combat crime.
Smith County Sheriff J.B. Smith said a Department of Public Safety helicopter stationed in Longview is what the area needs.
"Right now if we need a helicopter we have to call the closest DPS chopper and they are in Waco and Garland. "They're usually busy and we have to wait and when they do come it takes a long time for them to get here," he said.
Smith was talking about part of a bill on Perry's desk that would allow monies used from the DPS drug seizure funds to be used to purchase the helicopter, pay for three full time pilots and buy the night vision equipment.
The total cost associated with the proposal is estimated at $600,000.
The amendment on the bill for border security was spearheaded by Rep. Tommy Merritt, R-Longview, who said he was approached about a helicopter in the area years ago by a former Gregg County judge.
But the legislator added Sen. Kevin Eltife, R-Tyler, and East Texas representatives Chuck Hopson, Bryan Hughes, Leo Berman and others also supported the need for a helicopter.
"This project would be paid for by drug seizure money and not public tax dollars," Merritt said. He added, "The cost is insignificant compared to the value of the amount of people it would serve in the East Texas area."
Merritt's original amendment adding the chopper to the state budget called for funding to come from the state highway fund; the lawmaker later amended that to forfeiture funds.
Merritt said the chopper would come with search and rescue equipment, high powered flood lights, infrared technology and night vision eye wear for the pilots.
"This is state of the art stuff and will be useful here in our area. We have letters of support from just about every sheriff in the region," he said.
Smith said the chopper could help save lives or search for drowning victims, assist officers in high speed chases, and help locate high profile criminals hiding in wooded areas.
"We could use it to help us eradicate marijuana fields like those in the media recently and help us in the fight against drugs," he said.
Last month a DPS chopper was used to locate two escaped inmates from the Gregg County Jail and choppers have also been used to locate a man who shot and killed a state trooper in 2008.
Smith added a chopper stationed at the Longview DPS office would allow the entire area from Texarkana to Lufkin to be covered.
"I'm not saying we would use it everyday, but we would use it and it would be a great asset to all law enforcement agencies here in the area," he said.
