July 2024. Blues Vol 40 No.7

HOST AGENCY PROFILE TFO

HOST AGENCY PROFILE TFO Jason Knox was 35 years old when his watch came to an end on May 2, 2020. It was the first fatal crash in the agency's 50-year history. His badge number, 2374, is written in black on their Airbus H125 aircraft as its FAA registration number. The Houston Police Department Air Support Division and APSA have enjoyed a long, mutually beneficial relationship over the years. Having been founded around the same time, their history has been intertwined. larly provides airborne law enforcement services to public safety agencies throughout the area. As one of the smallest divisions in the department, the Air Support Division consists of 44 full-time employees, of which 32 are sworn and 12 are civilian. The employees of the ASD can generally be broken down into three groups: administrative, flight operations and maintenance. The administrative group consists of one commander, one lieutenant, one supervisor over the department’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems program, and five administrative and support personnel that handle the budget, inventory, facilities and other administrative duties. The Flight Operations group is made up of 27 people divided among two shifts and also includes the Training and Safety Unit. Currently, the day shift consists of 10 pilots and five tactical flight officers, while the night shift is comprised of seven pilots and five TFOs. These sergeants and officers keep watch over Houston from the air and are regularly involved in a myriad of flying: Patrol operations Critical incidents High-risk support, such as SWAT operations and protests Surveillance Investigative photo and video flights Dignitary protection flights Post-storm damage assessment Critical infrastructure checks Static displays and relational policing events The maintenance group includes nine Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) mechanics for in-house maintenance and repairs, four of which are Inspection Authorization (IA) certified. The highly-skilled mechanics are spread across two shifts to maintain as much coverage as possible to keep the fleet operational around the clock. Since the founding of the unit and the training of the original flight crews, HPD has conducted training for TFOs and pilots inhouse. The starting position within the division is the TFO, who performs all law enforcement related communication and documentation for their respective flight. Classified officers and supervisors generally serve in the TFO role for approximately three years before qualifying for pilot training. Pilot training is conducted by the fulltime training cadre of flight instructors made up of a sergeant and a senior police officer. The FAA certification curriculum consists of approximately 300 hours of ground school, countless hours of selfstudy, approximately 150 hours of flight training, and 100 hours of solo flying. Once the certification flight training is completed, the students transitioned into the mission aircraft and attend the factory school before being integrated into the flight schedules on a regular shift, based on availability. To date, the Air Support Division has trained 149 commerciallyrated pilots within the department. Houston is one of the first cities to establish an airborne law enforcement program in the United States. The HPD Helicopter Patrol Unit was established January 1, 1970 as part of the Traffic Enforcement Division. The Houston Police Department (HPD) celebrated the 50th anniversary of its aviation unit in 2020. 32 AIR BEAT MAGAZINE l Conference Preview l 2024 132 The Blues - July ‘24

HOST AGENCY PROFILE A non-fatal accident in 2019 and a fatal accident in 2020 caused the Air Support Division to re-examine and restructure the division’s Training and Safety Unit to reduce the risk of further accidents, prevent the loss of life and protect the department’s assets. These changes included: Improved documentation of training and safety issues Standardization and objectivity of training for pilots and TFOs Improving the training and documentation of quarterly and annual recurrent training Updated Standard Operating Procedures Simulator and computer-based training In 2023, the Air Support Division flew a total of 4,600 hours while responding to almost 10,000 calls for service, including 385 vehicle pursuits and 495 foot pursuits, that resulted in 1,159 arrests - many for violent offenses. Additionally, thousands of checks of critical infrastructure sites were performed to ensure the region’s resources were protected. Like other modern agencies around the country, the Houston Police Department has the challenges of staffing and budget constraints. Despite these challenges, our personnel remain dedicated and determined to keep the future of the Air Support Division bright and continue to provide safety and security for the public we serve. HPD's UAS Fleet Enhances Public Safety Missions The Houston Police Department’s twenty-eight remote pilots (RPIC) operate a diverse fleet of small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) to support various tactical and operational needs. The UAS fleet consists of several makes and models tailored to specific tasks. They include: three Skydio X2D, three FLIR R70 Skyranger, four Autel Evo II Dual Thermal, six Aardvark Loki E1, one DJI Matrice M30 Thermal, one DJI Mavic M3 Thermal and one DJI Avata "1". HPD utilizes these UAS to accomplish the department’s mission across various scenarios, including search and rescue, disaster response, missing persons, fugitive apprehensions, building searches, bomb calls and hazardous material observations, monitoring dangerous and armed subjects, managing large planned or unplanned events and mapping. The HPD UAS units have been instrumental in recent major events such as the 2022 Major League Baseball World Series, Astros Victory parade, 2023 NCAA Final Four, 2024 NCAA College Football Playoff, Houston Marathon and various community celebrations like the Juneteenth Parades, Pride Parade, and the 2023 Freedom Over Texas Fourth of July Celebration. Since 2022, the request for and utilization of UAS to support public safety missions have quadrupled, underscoring the growing importance and effectiveness of these tools in enhancing community safety and operational efficiency. www.publicsafetyaviation.org l 33 The Blues - July ‘24 133