Copper chopper

Gilroy
– The black,
”
unmarked
”
flying object reported over South County lately is not an alien
aircraft or suspicious government experiment. It’s the STAR-1
helicopter, the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Department’s eye in
the sky.
By Lori Stuenkel

Gilroy – The black, “unmarked” flying object reported over South County lately is not an alien aircraft or suspicious government experiment. It’s the STAR-1 helicopter, the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Department’s eye in the sky.

Three nights a week, from 4 in the afternoon until 4 in the morning, the Sheriff’s Tactical Air Response helicopter patrols all parts of the county, including Gilroy, and is at the beck-and-call of any law enforcement agency in need of a bird’s eye view.

With powerful exterior spotlights, the Eurocopter 120B can make a darkened neighborhood appear bright as day for officers on the ground who might be searching for a suspect. With video cameras, the deputy inside STAR-1 can record what’s happening on the ground. With infrared capability, a suspect hiding underneath a parked car can be seen from 1,000 feet up due to his body heat alone.

STAR-1 pilot Rob Heyde brought the Sheriff’s helicopter to the department’s SWAT teams competition held in South San Jose recently, offering rides to demonstrate the aircraft’s law enforcement capabilities.

Heyde, 49, has been patrolling county skies since the Sheriff’s department launched its airborne unit early last year. A civilian contractor, Heyde is not a trained deputy, but the other half of the chopper’s two-man crew is.

Deputy Dave Lera’s seat is on the left side of the helicopter, where he has access to the radios, computer and mapping systems, exterior lights, and infrared camera.

As a tactical flight observer, Lera handles the law enforcement aspects of helicopter flight. And he’s the one with the view: Any time STAR-1 circles over a scene, it turns left and rotates, tilting toward the ground so the scene below the helicopter can easily be seen out Lera’s window.

“It is very much like what a deputy would do down in a patrol car,” said Sgt. George Schifano Sheriff’s air support unit supervisor.

STAR-1 is in the air three nights a week, so combined with air support units from the California Highway Patrol and San Jose police, the county skies are covered all week long.

On the nights of the week that Heyde and Lera fly, regular patrols bring them to South County and Gilroy. Flight time from Moffett Airfield in Santa Clara, where the helicopter is kept, to Gilroy is between 20 and 30 minutes, Heyde said. STAR-1 patrols until the Sheriff’s office or another agency calls for air support.

“Generally, we try and only call them on something that would be critical, if you have something that they’re the best tool for,” said Sgt. Kurt Svardal.

The helicopter primarily responds to pursuits, whether of vehicles or people on foot.

“When you’re in a pursuit, you cannot beat a helicopter,” Svardal said.

That’s precisely why the Sheriff’s Department purchased the more than $1.5 million helicopter, mostly with the help of grants, in late 2002.

With truly high-tech equipment, there is little the multi-purpose light helicopter cannot do. Besides pursuits, the air support unit is used for SWAT unit deployment, traffic and drug surveillance, and search and rescue.

Not long ago, Heyde responded to a late-night call at Morgan Hill’s Anderson Dam, where a man was stuck, unable to climb up or down on the face of the dam. STAR-1 hovered – something only a helicopter can do – and shone its powerful spotlight on the man, enabling rescuers to easily locate him.

When flying over parts of the county controlled by other law enforcement, like Gilroy, Heyde said they listen to that agency’s radio in case STAR-1 is needed. Svardal recalled a night when Gilroy police responded to a call where the suspects had weapons. Without being called, STAR-1 showed up and illuminated the area.

On a sunny afternoon flying over downtown Gilroy, it can be easy to overlook the fact that the deputy and pilot in STAR-1 can be as much at risk as other law enforcement officers. That is, until Heyde explains that Lera’s side of the aircraft does still contain some flight controls – and Lera has received basic flying instructions – in the event that Heyde is injured or killed by a suspect.

When called out to areas like Gilroy, the Sheriff’s department does not bill for use of STAR-1, Schifano said.