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economist suntribune police saturday dec 7 2002 11 sky patrols reach spans across region in minutes by patrick mangion staff writer the call came in at 830 pm while conducting rou tine patrols over york region officers with the york regional police emergency response unit radioed const mark baggett and his civilian pilot andri harasym request ing possible assistance with a takedown in the major mackenzie drive and hwy 404 area friday night leave this channel open for about an hour or so just hang around i dont think theres going to be a prob lem the officer on the ground told const baggett and mr harasym the eru officers have a lead on a suspect wanted in connection with a 1083 in toronto who may be armed thats a homicide const baggett said in the meantime the new 125 million eurocopter ec120 swooped over some nightspots at hwy 404 and east beaver creek in rich mond hill briefly shining its powerful spotlight on the area lets remind any drunk drivers were here const baggett said as sections of the parking lot were lit up to near daylight brightness following that the two- man team hovered around an industrial area in markham looking for suspi cious vehicles markhams industrial area has been susceptible to break and enters const baggett said as the chopper circled several singlestorey staff photopatrick mangion york regional police const mark baggett left and civilian pilot andri harasym sit in the cockpit of air 2 the forces helicopter that can reach speeds of 250 kmh and cross the region in 10 minutes buildings about 1000 feet 300 metres below they lit up a lone car parked at the loading dock behind one building a few seconds later the vehicles reverse lights came on and the driver headed for the exit after a while you get pretty good at being able to recognize whats out of place const baggett said its called proactive polic ing and its the biggest attrib ute of air 2 he said however const baggett tires of the often heard analogies the police helicop ter can do the work of 20 officers on the ground say ing it supports not replaces officers on the ground its as if you have 20 or 30 officers cruisers down there the primary job of the chop per is to provide night patrol support to ground units he said over the steady stream of chatter on the police radio among the many features of air 2 are an exterior mounted spotlight thermal imager and a global position ing system no word yet from the eru team in richmond hill deciding which calls they should assist on or in the infrequent event of having to decide on multiple requests for help requires the units five tactical flight officers tfos to make judgment calls const baggett said air 2 is a seven day per week yearround operation exclusively conducting night patrols around the region weather conditions obvi ously become more of a fac tor during the winter months a mix of freezing rain and high winds can quickly turn a once-in-a-lifetime-experi- ence into a bumpy and oth erwise nauseating ride for inexperienced passengers const baggett has logged 400 training hours as a heli copter pilot he needs 1000 hours to fly air 2 rising to 2500 feet 750 metres can provide a more settling ride but it also defeats the purpose to some extent im getting a nose bleed const baggett jokes while struggling to see activity on the ground then the chopper banks sharply and accelerates toward central york region for a robbery call at a newmarket convenience store shortly before 9 pm a typical cruising speed for the helicopter is about 150 kmh with a top speed of 250 kmh it takes four min utes to fly from newmarket to markham people think its a cushy job you just look out the window and sight see but its hard work air 2 arrived at the davis drive yonge street area store just as the suspects two boys believed to be between 10 and 12 years old allegedly produced a toy gun while stealing merchandise the helicopter circles 360 degrees over the store in order to keep the sidemounted spotlight on the area until ground units arrive its what members of air 2 refer to as a dynamic manoeuvre a police car quickly pulls up to the store the call comes over the radio suspects are in custody an officer reports as for the eru team in richmond hill the call for assistance never comes and with freezing rain setting in const baggett and pilot harasym decide to head back to base in holland landing inside a small office in a hanger at the flight school const baggett says it was a comparatively slow night one night they had 20 calls spending eight hours in the air people think its a cushy job you just look out the win dow and sight see but its hard work const baggett said four hours of flying is like an eighthour day if i 0 go to yoar local basics sears walmart centennial college home hardware guardian drugs stouffville ida main drug mart 2001 audio video personal edge david khurana century services hillcroft pharmacy office place seneca college zehrs radio shack the bay jewellery the bay perfect gift 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