Advance helicopter alert: Drill announced for next Tuesday

| Helicopter | Seen at sea | West Seattle news

That’s a recent photo of the King County Sheriff’s Office helicopter Guardian One; today, KCSO sends an alert that you might spot it flying along the West Seattle coastline next Tuesday, and that’ll be part of a drill:

Notice of Joint Maritime Training Exercise

On Tuesday November 25th the King County Sheriff’s Office TAC 30 team (our department’s tactical unit) will be hosting a multi-agency maritime operations exercise in the area of the Des Moines waterfront. Citizens may see our helicopter flying from the Alki Point area south to Dumas Bay. Hours of the exercise will be from approximately 8 AM until 5 PM.

The main landing zone for the helicopter will be the Des Moines Marina. Agencies participating in the exercise include the Washington State Patrol, Seattle Police, Bainbridge Island Police, the U.S. Coast Guard, Customs and Border Protection and King County Medic One.

There will be numerous law enforcement boats involved in the exercise, along with one boat from Argosy Cruises. The main landing zone for the helicopter will be the Des Moines Marina. During the exercise there will be no public access to the pier.

We’ll remind you again when it gets closer, but for now, just so you know; the law-enforcement boats might be noticed as they head that way, too.

Vincent Dakotah Langley November 19, 2014 (4:02 pm)

This King County Sheriff’s Department helicopter is not the “renegade helicopter” that I’ve seen, always after dark, at night, around the West Seattle area before, anyway. In the first place, this King County Sheriff’s Department helicopter is somewhat smaller than the helicopter that I’ve seen before, around here. Thank you all at the West Seattle Blog for telling us all about this upcoming King County Sheriff’s Department helicopter drill ahead of time, though. We all certainly do appreciate this, on your part(s), there, at the West Seattle Blog! This is very nice of you and also of the King County Sheriff’s Department Tactical Divsion! And, Happy Thanksgiving to you all, at both places mentioned above!!!

ChefJoe November 19, 2014 (5:14 pm)

Vincent,
the past few nights I’ve seen a helicopter stationed over Alki/West Schmitz Park area. High enough up that I figured it was probably one of those IR camera outfits mentioned, but have been waiting for WSB confirmation.

https://westseattleblog.com/2014/10/hearing-a-helicopter-not-law-enforcement-spd-says/

Vincent Dakotah Langley November 19, 2014 (10:35 pm)

I don’t remember now, off-hand, exactly what the initials for it stand for, but that infra-red camera technology on some law enforcement helicopters is known as something like “FLIR” — which, I think, stands for something like “Forward Looking Infra-Red” camera technology. A helicopter equipped with it doesn’t have to be high up at all off from the ground below for this special camera technology to work when they aboard the helicopter want to use it. Infra-red camera technology works, basically, on a principle of seeking out “warm or hot spots” to determine where something or someone is, within a given picture that it takes — such as a human-being or even an animal, for example. I guess that you know how it works. It was originally developed for use by the U.S. military, if I remember right. It is an on-board camera technology aboard certain helicopters that works really very well, in civilian life, in criminal investigation work, by different law enforcement agencies. This is all really very interesting stuff, concerning helicopters and even some fixed-wing aircraft (airplanes) — and, also, as well, certain ground law enforcement vehicles. Those law enforcement people ought to be and I’m sure are really very proud of some of the “high-tech” electrical and electronic technologies that they have in their hands and thus at their disposal for use in helping them to solve different criminal cases! …Try to run from “FLIR” aboard one of those law enforcement helicopters — GOOD LUCK!!! It ISN’T going to work out for you, as you simply CANNOT hide from “FLIR”, even if you go under buildings, underground somewhere and so-forth! “FLIR’s” infra-red, heat-seeking technology can and does still see you, no matter what you try to do to hide from it! I think that this “FLIR” investigative technology is used by law enforcement either mostly at night, in the dark, or, exclusively at night. That King County Sheriff’s Department helicopter is equipped with “FLIR”. In this picture of that particular law enforcement helicopter, you can clearly see the helicopter’s “FLIR” camera assembly, mounted on the outside of the lower, forward part of the helicopter.

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