News coming out about budget cuts sounds dire for the Baltimore Police Department. At the moment, the police helicopter known as Foxtrot is on the chopping block.
Police already are mounting their defense of the $4 million a year expenditure, with a spokesman calling its loss "devastating." The Baltimore Sun's Julie Scharper noted that Baltimore could be just one of three cities with more than a half million people without a police aviation unit. And given we're consistently among the cities with the highest crime, that does not bode well.
Foxtrot flies almost 24 hours a day and is used to help officers chase suspects on the ground and makes car chases, at least the kind you see on TV out of LA, obsolete. Officers use the powerful light to illuminate crime scenes and to guide officers through streets and alleys.
I suspect in the end that Foxtrot -- which gained unwanted notoriety last year when its pilot helped a state delegate propose marriage during a stunt that involved a mock police raid on a boat -- will remain. It's too high profile to cut, and might just be included on the list as a scare-tactic. Some city council members say the proposed cuts, which include closing three fire stations and the police marine and horse units, are designed to make other fees more palatable.
The mayor is to present her formal budget on Wednesday.