Ask Officer Michelle – Question #84
Posted by Joe
Officer Michelle,I live in East Sacramento and have a police helicopter fly over and around my house at least 5 nights a week between 10pm and midnight. Many times the helicopter will circle a small area directing its spotlight around my neighborhood and into my yard or home as if it is searching for something or someone.
I find this routine extremely annoying and invasive.
What is the department’s policy governing the use of the helicopter? If crime requiring the frequent use of a helicopter is taking place in my neighborhood, where could I get information about it?Joe
Dear Joe,
There have not been any notable calls in the East Sacramento area over the past weeks. In order to decrease noise, our pilots raise their patrol altitude at night specifically for noise abatement. When they are on a call for service, they fly lower, but they always try to be conscious of the noise at night. For more information about our helicopters, there are two very informative articles on this blog at: http://blog.sacpd.org/?p=171 and http://blog.sacpd.org/?p=46
If you have concerns about a more immediate, specific situation, you can e-mail your local police substation at http://www.sacpd.org/my_neighborhood.asp and request they research the incident, or you can contact the Communications Center at 264-5471.
Officer Michelle
