Sonoma County Sheriff Mark Essick calls office’s helicopter to private winery Super Bowl party

It wasn't a flyover of Navy jets, but football fans at a private Super Bowl party got their own aerial show Sunday when Sheriff Mark Essick summoned his department's Henry 1 helicopter to the Healdsburg winery hosting the gathering.

Essick, who was a guest at the party at Jordan Vineyard & Winery, made an impromptu decision to ask the two-person crew to drop in, said Sheriff's Office spokesman Sgt. Juan Valencia.

“It's no different than us going to a school and showing the helicopter to kids,” Valencia said.

The John Jordan Foundation, a private philanthropy run by the winery, threw the party to show its appreciation for the nonprofit leaders it partners with, said Lisa Wittke Schaffner, the foundation's executive director and a former Healdsburg mayor.

The private guest list included Essick and Sonoma County Supervisor Shirlee Zane, who is in the midst of a heated reelection campaign.

Valencia said the visit by the sheriff's helicopter was part of the agency's ongoing community engagement effort, similar to visits to schools, businesses and events such as the Wings Over Wine Country air show.

The helicopter has landed at the winery's Super Bowl party in previous years, Valencia said, but he could not provide details about when or how many times. The winery first began hosting the Super Bowl event about five years ago, Wittke Schaffner said.

The helicopter crew was on duty Sunday and intending to fly but on the ground at Charles M. Schulz-Sonoma County Airport when Essick instructed them to fly to the winery, said Misti Wood, a Sheriff's Office spokeswoman. Operating Henry 1 costs $4050 per hour, the Sheriff's Office said Thursday, disclosing a number it did not provide Wednesday. The round-trip flight time to and from the winery was about 12 minutes, equating to $810, the department clarified on Thursday.

Once the helicopter landed, the pilot and sergeant on board stayed for about an hour. The pair talked to guests, answered questions and showed them the aircraft. They were still on duty and able to respond to calls, Wood said.

“Public education and relationship-building is an integral part of our community-oriented policing philosophy,” Wood said in an email. “You'll note our mission statement begins, ‘In partnership with our communities …'”

Essick declined requests for an interview about the event Tuesday and Wednesday.

The $5.5 million helicopter was purchased by the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office in 2017 to replace an older chopper. The Sheriff's Office relies on the helicopter for search and rescue missions throughout the county, some too remote or dangerous to access by patrol deputies, or to provide an overhead view of fleeing suspects, among other circumstances. Photos of the helicopter taken by party-goers at the event began rolling out on social media Monday, providing a glimpse of the celebration at the 1,200-acre wine estate in oak-studded hills northeast of Healdsburg.

“Fun!” Zane commented in a Facebook post about the party, sharing her own photo of Essick and her smiling in front of the helicopter. She did not respond to a request for an interview about the helicopter's visit by deadline Wednesday.

Dan Drummond, executive director of the Sonoma County Taxpayer's Association, said he did not think Henry 1's visit to the winery was much different from other events the helicopter attended. He said he would be more concerned if guests were taking private rides on the aircraft, which Valencia said did not happen.

“Helicopters, dogs and motorcycles, those get a lot of attention,” Drummond said. “They land this helicopter at all sorts of things. I think it's part of their plan.”

Owned by former civil litigator and GOP political power broker John Jordan, the Alexander Valley winery is well-established within the vintner community and is the location for themed Halloween parties hosting the who's who of Sonoma County.

The winery has also served as a political gathering place, having hosted events for former House Speaker John Boehner, New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, the Los Angeles Times reported in 2015.

Sonoma County supervisors approved plans to buy a new helicopter for the Sheriff's Office in August 2017, replacing an aging aircraft that was past its prime. The multimillion-dollar price tag for the Bell 407GXP included specific equipment used for law enforcement and search-and-rescue missions. Most of the money for the purchase, $2.9 million, had been confiscated from suspected criminals, a process known as asset forfeiture.

The John Jordan Foundation made a $12,500 donation to keep the Sheriff's Office helicopter program running in 2012, when tightening budgets led then-Sheriff Steve Freitas to consider slashing the helicopter's operations altogether. Enough funding was secured to keep the program running that year, though the threat prompted volunteers with the copter's search and rescue team to start a nonprofit that would secure funds to offset the cost of running the multimillion-dollar program.

You can reach Staff Writer Nashelly Chavez at 707-521-5203 or nashelly.chavez@pressdemocrat.com.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story contains new information about the per-hour operating cost for Henry 1 that the Sheriff's Office did not disclose on Wednesday. At that time, Misti Wood, the department spokeswoman, disclosed only the per-hour cost of $460 for fuel and wear and tear, which Wood said equated to $92 for the Super Bowl flight. Though Wood was asked on Wednesday for the total hourly cost, the department did not provide that cost, $4050, until Thursday, when it said the Super Bowl flight equated to $810.