Our area’s only law-enforcement helicopter, Guardian One, gets upgraded

| Helicopter | West Seattle news

(King County Sheriff’s Office photo)

That’s the new Guardian One, the helicopter operated by the King County Sheriff’s Office but also used to support Seattle Police (which have no helicopter of their own) among others. Sheriff Patti Cole-Tindall and King County Executive Dow Constantine introduced the new helicopter today at the Renton airport, where it’s based. It’s a Bell 407GXi, which the KCSO announcement says “is designed for quick, smooth landings in unpredictable conditions and will support a wide range of missions, including law enforcement patrol, search and rescue, wildfire response, and more.” Its predecessor was more than 50 years old. KCSO says the county spent almost $6 million on the new helicopter and the state added nearly $1 million. The KCSO Air Support Unit includes the Guardian Two more often used for search and rescue, plus 30+ drones; the county says it’s flown more than 300 missions so far this year, and 480 last year.

Rhonda October 3, 2024 (12:15 am)

SWEET

Frankee October 3, 2024 (3:45 am)

I saw it buzz Alki yesterday. Impressive.

sbre October 3, 2024 (7:25 am)

A new ‘copper copter’, right on!

Bryan W Poe October 3, 2024 (7:37 am)

Far out!

Big Bang October 3, 2024 (8:42 am)

Can it shoot grenades at vehicles that wont stop for police? Or maybe rockets. Missiles?

CarDriver October 3, 2024 (8:58 am)

I remember SPD’s old chopper. It had floats on it so it could land on water.

Mr J October 3, 2024 (10:14 am)

Wondering what the ROI is on these vehicles and devices. As more and more police and sheriffs departments militarize I’m unconvinced that it’s actually needed. How effective are the Guardians at assisting police in apprehending subjects while flying? How many flight hours are they putting in and what is the actual cost to the taxpayers? We’re closing schools and and doing rolling closures of libraries and cutting back on assistance to our unhoused community. A case should be made on why these things are needed. In terms of search and rescue drones would be far more effective and could be used in mass. I know I’ll get hate from the bootlickers. But questions should be asked and these departments need to make the case to the public on why these resources are needed.

WSB October 3, 2024 (11:08 am)

They do keep limited hours. Lately – including during this morning’s chase of the 7-11 robbers – the answer to the question when officers ask dispatch “is Guardian One available?” has been “no.” Compared to some other metro areas, it’s a smaller fleet. I looked at Las Vegas, for example; their PD has five. In a vaguely related note, media here has cut back on helicopter use over the years. When I started in Seattle TV news in 1991, every major station had its own, to the point where, if something was “breaking,” the pilots had to talk to each other to determine who would hover where to keep a safe distance from the others. Now there’s one shared helicopter, and – as with law enforcement – more drone use.
wscommuter October 3, 2024 (8:51 pm)

Yes, because it’s a binary choice – “militarized police” or libraries. No, you aren’t licking any boots at all.
- Mr J October 3, 2024 (9:04 pm)
  
  Whoa, I didn’t realize asking for an ROI would lead you to such hasty conclusions. Don’t get defensive it’s a real question.
  - K October 4, 2024 (4:17 am)
    
    I think that would be hard to quantify. There are circumstances (pursuits) where one helicopter can replace a number of officers on the ground, and do so more effectively and safely. Drones can be used to locate people for the “search” part of “search and rescue”, but more often than not, a helicopter is the best choice for the rescue, for the terrain involved, and to get the person to a medical facility quickly after rescue. I think it’s hard to put a dollar amount on things like getting someone to a hospital quickly or making pursuits safer. The police definitely have some very questionable things they spend money on, but I don’t know that this is one of them.
Frankee October 4, 2024 (2:53 am)

I am not a boot licker, but you are right.

Sarah October 3, 2024 (10:32 am)

Wow, the previous one was more than 50 years old?!

WSB October 3, 2024 (10:58 am)

Built in 1973, per the news release,

Eddie October 3, 2024 (10:53 am)

I hope they provide WSB Tracy with a VIP media ride.

WSB October 3, 2024 (10:58 am)

No helicopters for us, thank you! Takes a special sort of non-acrophobic soul…
- Daniel October 3, 2024 (1:00 pm)
  
  If you haven’t seen it before, you may enjoy the 2 minute Key & Peele comedy sketch involving a substitute traffic reporter, broadcasting live from a helicopter, and panicking about it. (It’s loud and though so turn down your volume)

luke242 October 3, 2024 (11:55 am)

Any details on its technological capabilities when it comes to tracking suspects?

Iskel and Sebert October 3, 2024 (8:14 pm)

Everybody needs to go re-watch the 1983 classic police helicopter movie (I’ll bet you didn’t know that was a movie category) “Blue Thunder” starring Roy Scheider of Jaws fame. Or just watch the 3 minute trailer and you’ll get the idea. It’s clearly the ‘Citizen Kane’ of police helicopter movies while at the same time being the ‘Sharknado’ of police helicopter movies and it will give you a sense for just how sideways things can go when police departments get toys that are this cool.

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