<< Previous   of   Next >> Enterprise/AMY DAYBERT  (click to enlarge) Excited children run toward Guardian One, a new King County Sheriff's Office helicopter on Aug. 14 during the Ridgecrest Ice Cream Social at Paramount Park. The $3.4 million aircraft was paid for with a federal Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) grant from the Department of Homeland Security. Enterprise/AMY DAYBERT  (click to enlarge) Brenna, 4, and her father Rick O'Leary of Shoreline peer into the cockpit of Guardian One, King County Sheriff Office's new helicopter on Aug. 14 at Paramount Park.

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CONTACT THE ENTERPRISE Jocelyn Robinson, Copy editor jrobinson@heraldnet.com

King County Sheriff Office gets new eye in the sky

By Amy Daybert
Enterprise editor

Neighbors who assembled for the annual Ridgecrest Ice Cream Social on Aug. 14 may have been a little surprised to see a new police helicopter land on Paramount Park's field.

No, it wasn't a training exercise, a rescue or a stop for ice cream. The "Guardian One" was simply on display for an hour for children and adults alike to get up close to the aircraft and take a look.

The new Bell 407 was officially introduced July 31 by the King County Sheriff's Office. A federal Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) grant from the Department of Homeland Security paid for the $3.4 million helicopter, said Ken O'Neal, Air Support Unit with the King County Sheriff's Office.

"I think this is probably it for the foreseeable future," O'Neal said, responding to a question about whether the Sheriff's Office will add another helicopter to the skies over King, Pierce and Snohomish counties.

The helicopter was an appreciated addition to the Sheriff's Office, O'Neal explained.

"Helicopters are fairly maintenance-intensive," he said. "For every 100 hours of flight time, timely maintenance is required. It takes about two days and the other aircraft have to make up for it. So you have to have multiple aircraft to keep one ready all times."

King County Sheriff's Office uses aircraft to apprehend suspects, search for missing persons and perform rescues during natural disasters.

Guardian One serves as the primary aircraft in the unit and is equipped with 30-million candlepower searchlights, forward-looking infrared, specialized tracking equipment and real-time microwave video downlink, so those stationed at command posts can view ongoing events from the sky.