Sky Knight: 40 Years of Aerial Law Enforcement The staccato beat of police helicopter rotors, lens flare from a 3-million-candle-powered spotlight, and focused blare of a 200-watt public address system have become movie clichés. But, the enhancements of Dolby sound, and stadium seating can’t tell the story of Lakewood’s Sky Knight—the first scheduled day/night helicopter law enforcement patrol program in the world. Sky Knight has clocked well over 107,000 patrol hours and spans 40 years of continuous service since it began in June 1966 as a pilot program sponsored by the City of Lakewood and the L.A. County Sheriff's Department. It was funded by a grant from the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration. (Gallery of historical photos) On occasion, Sky Knight certainly does resemble the movies: a dramatic rescue of youngsters trapped in a storm drain channel, helping ground units find a lost child who wandered away from Lakewood Center, or getting aid to a deputy assaulted by a suspect. More commonly, Sky Knight is a ubiquitous presence providing a reassuring overflight for a family concerned about a prowler . . . a quick response to a burglary scene . . . fast identification of a stolen car . . . and providing an aerial cap for a perimeter set up by sheriff’s ground units. Sky Knight is most frequently dispatched for emergency calls involving a burglary or robbery in progress. Sky Knight also flies as an aerial command post during drug raids and in situations involving a barricaded suspect. The helicopter’s average response time within the region is under three minutes. It takes Sky Knight only six minutes to cross its entire patrol area from edge to edge. The Sky Knight law enforcement region is made up of, and sponsored by the cities of Artesia, Bellflower, Cerritos, Lakewood, and Paramount. Sky Knight patrols 34 square miles and services a population of over 300,000 people. “Our primary mission is ground unit support and officer safety,” explaines Sky Knight Chief Pilot Wes Pearson. “We will respond when possible to any call we can assist — backup to a traffic stop, silent burglar alarm, barricaded suspects, or crimes in progress. We will check the perimeter of buildings and roofs or watch for a possible suspect attempting to flee on foot or in a vehicle. “A secondary mission is patrol of inaccessible areas such as riverbeds, flood control channels, power line and railroad rights of way for illegal activities. Our major benefit is that we can provide a rapid response for our service area; ground units can depend on us for quick backup.” The Sky Knight helicopter might be best described as an airborne patrol car. “For example,” notes Pearson, “if we hear a report of a noisy dispute, and we’re not already working on a call, we will fly over the scene. Sometimes just the sound of our helicopter is enough to make the offenders stop their behavior. On missing children calls, Sky Knight will circle the area to get the attention of everyone on the ground followed by a loudspeaker broadcast of the name and description of the missing child The broadcast can cover a large area in a short period of time saving many man-hours of searching by ground units.” The Sky Knight program’s three helicopters are equipped with a 200-watt public-address system, siren, stabilized binoculars, a 3-million-candle-powered spotlight, sheriff’s radio, and basic avionics. During each shift, one of three Sky Knight helicopters is in the air or on call on the helipad. (Pilot Wes Pearson with helicopters, left.) The helicopters also can be equipped with a TV camera and broadcast antenna for reporting directly from the scene of a disaster. In the event of an earthquake, Sky Knight can transmit real-time images so that emergency officials on the ground ca respond more quickly. (Click for 'photo journal' on 2006 disaster preparedness drill where Sky Knight’s aerial survey of an active disaster area could be vital.) Sky Knight's fleet consists of three Schweizer Model C helicopters. The helicopters have a cruising speed of about 60 miles an hour. The craft's top speed is 105 miles an hour. To date, Sky Knight boasts a safety record that is unparalleled in helicopter operations. Sky Knight pilots are City of Lakewood employees and are non-sworn personnel. The L.A. County Sheriff's Department provides deputy observers under contract to the City of Lakewood from the Lakewood Sheriff's Station. Awards Hughes Aircraft Safety Award 1984 Schweizer Aircraft Corporation Safety Award 1986 Award of Valor 1986 L.A. County Fire Department & L.A. County Sheriff's Department Commendation(Cerritos Air Disaster) 1986 Airborne Law Enforcement Association 1991 Schweizer Aircraft Corporation Leadership Award 1996 Helicopter Association International "Salute to Excellence Award" 1999 Schweizer Aircraft Corporation Safety Award 2006 Sky Knight facts Lakewood’s Sky Knight program was the first helicopter patrol program in the nation. Sky Knight expanded its initial 9.5-square-mile patrol area in 1967 to include the entire region served by the Lakewood Sheriff’s Station. Since then, Sky Knight has flown virtually every day. 107,000 hours of flight time since 1966 (about 1,800 hours a year). More than 500 police agencies in this country and around the world use helicopters; many of them fly as Sky Knight does, on daily crime suppression and support patrols. During the 18-month study period beginning in June 1966, the rate of serious crime decreased by 11 percent in Lakewood while increasing 8 percent countywide. Sky Knight is the perfect crime scene command post — the “high ground” that gave deputies a vantage point for organizing a search or directing pursuit. The helocopters are completely integrated within the sheriff’s tactical operations and patrol about 1,800 hours a year. Sky Knight proved all of its unique abilities in 1986, when it flew continuously over the scene of a crashed commercial jet in nearby Cerritos. Sky Knight was one of the first law enforcement units at the scene and the first to provide a comprehensive assessment of the disaster. As rescue efforts continued, Sky Knight pilot Monica McIntyre was given responsibility as on-scene air traffic controller, guiding medivac helicopters to the crash site, and positioning news media helicopters away from flight corridors. The Cerritos disaster was a spectacular example of Sky Knight’s abilities as a command platform and observation post. The Airborne Law Enforcement Association recognized the program's achievements in 1991 by presenting the program’s pilots and observers with a special award that acknowledges Sky Knight’s place in the history of aerial law enforcement. Sky Knight history The Sky Knight helicopter patrol program took wing in June 1966 from a suggestion by the late Hugh MacDonald, former aviation unit chief of the Sheriff’s Department. He saw an immediate need to move airborne law enforcement from special operations toward routine patrols and aerial command. MacDonald’s vision of new uses for aerial units came with risks. Could observers and the county sheriff’s ground units communicate effectively in crime situations? Could the helicopters perform day and night, under difficult conditions, and with the lives of deputies always on the line? With the support of then-Sheriff Peter Pitchess, MacDonald chose Lakewood as the best test site to answer these questions. The decision involved Lakewood city officials, Sheriff’s Captain Ted von Minden (then commander of the Lakewood Sheriff’s Station and later undersheriff of Los Angeles County), the Hughes Tool Company (makers of the 300B helicopters to be flown in the study), and the federal Law Enforcement Assistance Administration. Getting Sky Knight underway in 1966-67 involved a partnership that included the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, Hughes Tool Company, and contract cities that would be served by the fledgling program. Sky Knight taught them a quick lesson in crime suppression. The incidence of major crimes dropped by 11 percent during the 18-month test that proved Sky Knight's effectiveness. During the same period, crime overall in Los Angeles County jumped 8 percent.

Click for a gallery of historic and current Sky Knight photos.

Sky Knight also turned out to be the perfect crime scene command post — the “high ground” that gave deputies a vantage point for organizing a search or directing pursuit. On a burglary call, for example, Sky Knight can guard all exits from a building and check the roof (to which burglary suspects often retreat).

With credentials like those, Sky Knight expanded its initial 9.5-square-mile patrol area in 1967 to include the entire region served by the Lakewood Sheriff's station.

Sky Knight is just like a radio car — with some important differences. Sky Knight can get from one corner of its 33-square-mile region to the most distant point in its service region in less than five minutes.

But, that’s an extreme example. In fact, Sky Knight is generally no more than two or three minutes away from any location in the region. A fleeing suspect can’t escape Sky Knight. In high-speed pursuit, the helicopter is usually one step ahead of even the fastest car. In one incident, a suspect’s car was clocked at speeds more than a hundred miles per hour. Sky Knight successfully coordinated the deployment of ground units in advance of the car and made the “collar” on the robbery suspect.

Getting there first

Speed was expected. But, with experience, came the realization that Sky Knight was the perfect aerial command post — "high ground" that gave law enforcement a vantage point for organizing a search or directing pursuit. It didn't take long for Sky Knight to become every deputy's favorite backup unit.

Since then, Sky Knight has flown above Lakewood virtually every day. The aircraft are completely integrated within the sheriff’s tactical operations and patrol about 1,800 hours a year.

Sky Knight is just like a radio car — with some important improvements:

Sky Knight has the advantage of a nearly unlimited view in observing crime situations. Even at night, the helicopter’s searchlights can turn darkness into near daylight. When terrain or buildings isolate ground units, Sky Knight is always on top of the situation, coordinating the movement of men and equipment. In situations where several radio cars must be in close communication, Sky Knight will relay radio commands and give ground units a precise understanding of their relationship to one another and the emergency situation.

Case study: Cerritos commercial jet crash

Sky Knight proved all of its unique abilities in 1986, when it flew continuously over the scene of a crashed commercial jet in nearby Cerritos. Sky Knight was one of the first law enforcement units at the scene and the first to provide a comprehensive assessment of the disaster. As rescue efforts continued, Sky Knight pilot Monica McIntyre was given responsibility as on-scene air traffic controller, guiding medivac helicopters to the crash site, and positioning news media helicopters away from flight corridors. The Cerritos disaster was a spectacular example of Sky Knight’s abilities as a command platform and observation post.

Case study: River rescue

In early 1991, as unexpected spring runoff poured through the region’s flood control channels, Sky Knight rescued two boys who had been swept away while bike riding in the San Gabriel River bed. Landing downstream, Sky Knight Pilot Carl Cortez and his observer, Deputy George Collins, formed a human chain to pull the youngsters from the water. More than once the force of the flow nearly brought down both men as they struggled to rescue the two boys. Finally, they brought the exhausted and cold youngsters to safety. For their courage and quick thinking, pilot Cortez and observer Collins received the 1991 Lakewood Award of Valor.

All in the job

Sky Knight has proven itself daily as the most effective multi-jurisdictional aerial law enforcement unit in the nation. That boast is backed up by thousands of hours of flight time and by a record of safety that is unparalleled in helicopter operations.

“It’s been a case study in contracting since 1966,” notes Lakewood City Manager Howard Chambers. “Sheriff’s deputy observers, civilian pilots, four cities contracting through Lakewood, and private enterprise doing the maintenance on the Sky Knight fleet—this program shows all the strengths of contracting and all the values of multi-jurisdictional law enforcement.” Sky Knight pilots are Lakewood employees. The Sheriff’s Department provides deputy observers through Lakewood’s law enforcement contract.

Today, more than 500 police agencies in this country and around the world use helicopters; many of them fly as Sky Knight does — on daily crime suppression and support patrols. But, Lakewood’s Sky Knight program was the first.