Now that relative calm has returned to our city, perhaps The Sun will focus on another Baltimore City Police Department abuse: its extensive reliance upon helicopter patrols.
While not as dangerous to the community as the police behavior that prosecutors say led to the death of Freddie Gray, those noisy helicopter patrols are ridiculously expensive to operate and degrading to the communities they fly over. Long before the recent incidents in Sandtown occurred, we've had backyard dining and neighborhood gatherings drowned out by choppers flying low, shining spotlights into our yards and homes for no evident reason. Last week every day was like a scene from "Apocalypse Now."
According to the American Civil Liberties Union, police helicopters typically cost $500,000 to $3 million apiece, require two or three officers on board and burn through thousands of dollars of fuel each day they fly. In 2010 BPD bought four helicopters for a reported cost of nearly $10 million. What difference could $10 million invested in the children of West Baltimore have made?
It is time to sell the helicopters, put the officers to work on the streets in the communities they fly over and invest the savings in programs on the ground to rebuild trust in law enforcement.
Bill Hamilton, Baltimore