Flying high

Deirdre Newman

Former Police Chief Dave Snowden was back in town and flying high on

Tuesday for the formal dedication of a new police helicopter in his

name.

The Airborne Law Enforcement program dedicated its newest

helicopter, a Eurocopter EC 120B, to Snowden on the landing pad of

the police station. The program is a joint effort between Newport

Beach and Costa Mesa.

Snowden was instrumental in getting the program started, Newport

Beach Police Chief Bob McDonell said.

“Somebody had to start the ball rolling, and that was Dave,”

McDonell said. “Today, we recognize Dave for being the catalyst that

brought it together.”

Snowden said he was moved to be back in the city he had served for

16 years.

“This place is home to me -- it always will be,” Snowden said. “My

heart’s in Costa Mesa. This is an honor beyond words. It’s hard to

explain what it means to me.”

During his first week as police chief, Snowden said, he discussed

with City Manager Allan Roeder how to make the helicopter program

more effective.

“A lot of cities were operating their own programs with separate

aircrafts,” Snowden said. “I thought if we combined them, we could

share the costs and increase the coverage.”

Snowden credited Roeder, Lt. Bob Oakley and former Police Capt.

Dave Brooks for their help in getting the program off the ground.

When the Airborne Law Enforcement program started, it included

Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Huntington Beach and the Orange County

Sheriff’s Department. Huntington Beach and the sheriff’s department

didn’t stay with the program, leaving Newport Beach and Costa Mesa to

share three helicopters.

The helicopters are valuable because they usually arrive first at

an accident scene, they can hover over areas that ground officers

can’t get to, and they have the ability to observe things without

being noticed with infrared technology, said Brooks, who is now a

member of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District Board of Trustees.

Snowden had the foresight to make sure these advantages were

available to the Newport-Mesa area, Brooks added.

“He’s very deserving,” Brooks said of Snowden. “Without his

support and guidance and encouragement, this never would have

happened.”

The helicopters also work closely with the fire departments, Costa

Mesa Fire Chief Jim Ellis said.

And they are remarkably quiet, which meshes with the police

department’s goal of reducing noise, Oakley said.

By working together, Costa Mesa and Newport Beach are able to

enjoy the financial benefit of replacing the aviation equipment more

regularly “instead of flying them till their blades fall off,” Oakley

said.

The new helicopter cost about $1.23 million.

“Historically, neither city had a provision for replacing them as

they aged,” Oakley said. “Our replacement [policy] provides for a new

one every nine and a half years.”

After the dedication ceremony, attendees checked out the blue

helicopter with an eagle on its tail.

Traci Blanton, a property evidence specialist with the police

department, helped her 2-year-old daughter, Rachel, sit in the

pilot’s seat, gently telling her not to touch the controls. But

Rachel couldn’t resist, and reached to grasp the steering control

handle.

“I want to be able to fly,” Rachel said after she was lifted out

of the helicopter.

Blanton, who flew in the helicopters when she was working with the

crime scene investigation team, said they are an integral part of the

department.

“[They’re] such an important part that really helps us out,”

Blanton said. “Once you’ve been flying in it, it’s amazing. There’s

nothing like it.”

* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers Costa Mesa. She may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at deirdre.newman@latimes.com.