The LAPD Air Support Division is the largest municipal airborne law enforcement organization in the U.S. and operates from the LAPD Hooper Heliport. The helicopter crews assist with thousands of arrests, pursuits and crimes in progress each year. The LAPD's airborne law enforcement program began with one helicopter in 1956. Today, the Air Support Division is the largest municipal airborne law enforcement operation in the world and logged more than 18,000 flight hours in 2011. Photos courtesy of the LAPD's Air Support Angel's Foundation.
LAPD's Air Support Division
The AS350 helicopter is a single-engine aircraft.
The setting sun provides a picturesque backdrop for an LAPD helicopter.
With such an active unit, there are two to three LAPD helicopters in the air at any given time.
Three of the LAPD's American Eurocopter AS350 B2 helicopters patrol near Dodger Stadium.
This LAPD AS350 patrols in the western area of the San Fernando Valley.
SWAT officers ride the aerial platform above downtown Los Angeles.
The LAPD's Air Support Division performs mostly patrol and surveillance work. Search-and-rescue missions are handled by the fire department.
The LAPD's Air Support Division is made up of 18 AS350 copters and a fixed-wing King Air plane for extraditions.
The unit patrols the beach-side cliffs of Cabrillo Beach in the San Pedro neighborhood of Los Angeles.
The LAPD aircraft are usually operated by a pilot and Tactical Flight Officer (TFO), who are both sworn officers. The copters can also accommodate four passengers.