Tomball Police take to the skies

The Tomball Police Department's newest piece of equipment is the gyroplane aircraft, a light sport aircraft with one rotating wing that can only seat two. The aircraft will be used for such purposed as patrolling community events like the German Heritage Festival, assessing severe weather damage, and spotting parking lot car thefts. less The Tomball Police Department's newest piece of equipment is the gyroplane aircraft, a light sport aircraft with one rotating wing that can only seat two. The aircraft will be used for such purposed as ... more Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Tomball Police take to the skies 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Tomball Police will soon be patrolling both the skies and the roads, as City Council approved a service agreement between the Tomball Police Department and the U.S. Department of Justice for the employment of a light sport aircraft called a gyroplane at their March 21 meeting.

The aircraft, an Auto-Gyro MTOsport, is manufactured in Germany to strict airworthiness standards required in Britain, Germany, and Australia. There are more than 1,000 MTOsport gyroplanes flying worldwide, many of which are being used by military units, civil air patrol, and police agencies around the world.

In June 2010, the Tomball Police Department was selected from a nationwide candidate pool to become a member of the United States Department of Justice's National Institute of Justice’s Aviation Technology Program.

At a conference for the program, Police Chief Robert Hauck said he told the department why even a small town like Tomball needed an advanced aircraft.

"Instead of telling them why we needed an aircraft, I told them about Tomball Police Department, the City of Tomball, and why we would be a good investment," said Hauck. " A lot of people's first response is, 'We really need this for Tomball?' If we don't care about public safety, no. But if we really are the city that I know we are, we need to seize an opportunity like this."

Hauck said that in his work with the Los Angeles Police Department, there were two aircraft available to the city at all times. But in Harris County, Hauck said, there is one fixed wing aircraft for the third largest sheriff's department in the nation, and a county of four million people.

"Our community's being ripped off, for lack of a better term," said Hauck.

In support of this partnership between the TPD and DOJ, the DOJ has provided direct funding of $40,000 for research and evaluation of a gyroplane aircraft for law enforcement aviation use, and also funded pilot and tactical flight officer training for members of the newly formed TPD Air Support Unit.

Previously, Chief Hauck said at the meeting, law enforcement agencies have used helicopters, costing between four to six million dollars, and a thousand dollars an hour to operate. The gyroplane, Hauck said, is significantly more economical to operate.

"This is America taking a page from Europe, because they found a way to put $80,000 aircraft in the air for $50 an hour," said Hauck.

The gyroplane is currently being maintained at David Wayne Hooks Airport, in the Harris County Sheriff's Office hangar.

Hauck said the aircraft will be primarily used for apprehending aggressive drivers, airborne patrols to spot and deter criminal activity like burglaries and car thefts, search and rescue missions, damage assessments following significant weather events, photography of critical infrastructure patrolling planned community events, such as the German Fest and Holiday Parade, surveillance during high-risk warrant services, and in response to unusual occurrences to provide situational awareness to incident commanders on the ground.

Council members said that such aircraft could be used by the Tomball Fire Department as well.

"Talking with Chief Parr, we discussed that it could be used by the fire department in large fire scenes, damage in storms, or even just as something on high to survey assets," said Councilman Derek Townsend, Sr.

With a trained aviation team of a command pilot and tactical flight officer in the gyroplane, the police department creates a force that is equivalent to 18-22 police officers on the ground.

While Hauck said Tomball will be the first city to use the gyroplane aircraft in particular, he said the Department of Justice has reported cities around the country successfully using similar technologies, such as powered parachutes in Ripon, CA. Because of the use of parachutes, the city of Ripon has decreased their daytime burglaries by 64 percent.

Hauck said he hopes to mimic those results with the gyroplane in Tomball.

"Instead of looking at a two year old Google map, and risk putting our officers in harm's way, we can use this aircraft," said Hauck. "We had a recent robbery at Jack in the Box, and for the fields surrounding the area by FM 2920 and 2978, it would have been very helfpul."