Wash. Sheriff's Office Ready to Get Aviation Progam Off the Ground

The helicopter itself was free; however, the North Carolina agency told TCSO that the chopper was equipped with about $250,000 of equipment and offered to sell it for $10,000, which TCSO agreed to.

While the helicopter, which was formerly used as a training helicopter for the U.S. military before its law enforcement use, is already in TCSO's possession, the agency is approximately six months to a year away from implementing its aviation program. The aircraft was delivered to Northwest Helicopters in Olympia and requires further inspection and the installation of a law enforcement radio, the latter of which would cost about $94,000 and require Board of County Commissioners approval.

But when the time comes, the program could be a game-changer for Thurston County and the region.

From 2021 to 2024, TCSO has received 222 water rescue calls, including 148 in the Puget Sound and 23 in the Nisqually River. The agency is responsible for nearly all of the waterways in the county, with the exception of several lakes within the cities, Sanders told the Board of County Commissioners during an Oct. 15 board work session. TCSO's primary response vessel for water rescue calls is a Marine Services Unit vessel called Integrity, but both engines are blown and it has been unusable for about three years, according to Sanders. Even if the boat was back up and running, it uses about 50 gallons of fuel per hour with a cost of about $9 a gallon.

"The cost to repair them is about $130,000. We have the funding to do it through the dedicated state boater fund," Sanders said. "However, we did not want to put new engines on a vessel we don't own. The Port of Olympia owned the vessel. We recently got the ownership transferred into our name, so we are going to repower that vessel for our water response out in the Sound. There was just a big delay because the port got the boat through a grant from (the state Department of) Homeland Security, so they didn't want to give the asset up if it prevented them from getting future grants, but they were able to resolve that."

Integrity alone is not the most effective solution in water rescue situations, Sanders said. He explained that a rescue call in the Nisqually River area would take the boat about 45 minutes to respond from where it's docked in the port.

The aviation program should expedite that process exponentially, Sanders stated.

"The benefit is that you can get anywhere in the county on a helicopter in 10 minutes," he said. "The manpower is less. The ability to assess incidents is more quick. A lot of times, we get duress calls out in the Sound about kayakers that are flipped over and appear to be drowning, and then we take the boat out there, we get there 40 minutes later and they've got their stuff turned back over and they're like, 'No, I'm fine. I just flipped over,'" Sanders said. "That could easily be spotted by a helicopter and resolved much quicker than what it would take to get two deputies to launch that boat out there."

The aircraft is also cheaper than the boat when it comes to burning fuel, with the helicopter burning 25 gallons of fuel per hour for $7 to $8 a gallon. It also burns less fuel and for a shorter duration, Sanders said.

A potential bonus for TCSO is that the maintenance and pilots will both be provided by Northwest Helicopters, which relieves a significant expense for the agency. Northwest Helicopters is supported by a number of volunteer pilots, Sanders said.

"Northwest Helicopters is kind of the hub of helicopters up here in the Pacific Northwest. They do a lot of the work where linemen are addressing power line issues," he said. "They're using their systems to take those linemen up and deal with high-level power lines. They do flying for Hollywood. They do a lot of really high-level helicopter stuff."

Additionally, Northwest Helicopters will be donating its patented Human External Cargo (HEC) Rescue System, which costs about $34,500. The system was designed and tested for human external cargo, generally seen in the helicopter industry for powerline maintenance or construction services.

Insurance costs run about $12,000 per year based on Northwest Helicopters' pilot service. As pilots are more experienced, insurance costs go down, Sanders said.

The sheriff listed a number of pros for air support, including that it would allow police to disengage high-speed pursuits, provide higher capture rates, lower the risk to uninvolved motorists, provide intel to law enforcement in the area, provide support for K9 tracks, and assist with missing or lost subjects, among others. TCSO can also assist other law enforcement agencies in the region with its air support, if necessary.

Air support assets have helped TCSO in multiple recent events. Most recently, a helicopter was used to assist in locating and leading fire and law enforcement response teams to the downed Joint Base- Lewis McChord helicopter near Summit Lake last month. In 2023, a Lacey double-homicide suspect fled on foot into the Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually Wildlife Refuge after a short pursuit with police. King County's Guardian One helicopter and the Washington State Patrol's Smokey aircraft were used to locate the suspect hiding in thick brush, and law enforcement took the suspect into custody without incident.

The aviation program does come with some risks, however. The helicopter cannot be flown in poor weather, and insurance can fluctuate depending on the pilot's experience.

But the county commissioners expressed their support for the program. They also gave the sheriff's office authorization to research the establishment of a donation fund, as Sanders said the agency has received multiple sizable donations, including one for $19,000 and another for $17,000.

"We've got some high-level donors who are interested in seeing a program like this thrive and succeed," Sanders said.

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