As an elected representative for Peoria, I feel obligated to address the recent op-ed written by aspiring politician Judi Smith about Peoria’s public safety aviation unit. Rather than a line by line debunking of Ms. Smith’s fictitious piece, I will set the record straight on the Peoria police department’s rescue helicopter.
The Bell 505 helicopter was purchased using a bi-partisan state grant given to Peoria by our legislature and Gov. Katie Hobbs. Peoria covers a large radius, and we have previously been dependent on the Maricopa County Sheriff’s office for search and rescue and rapid response by air. The state recognized our need and stepped up to fund our helicopter with a grant, allowing us to collaborate with the county instead of being dependent on them. In just its first year of use, the aviation unit has already saved lives! These Peoria neighbors now get to be with their families because of this lifesaving helicopter and the brave and skilled law enforcement team.
The pilots and our team have had an amazing track record in their first year and continue to train and collaborate for readiness. As this program is still in its development stage, logging flight time and attending trainings are mandatory for the unit’s growth and development. Recently, the unit attended a charity event as well as a scheduled training in Dallas, Texas. This event was not a junket. This served as an important part of the unit’s training and career development, where they logged mandatory miles and learned best practices from industry leaders and experts. While this training was taking place to better prepare our team for future emergencies, we are grateful for our partners at Maricopa County who were available to help find a hiker who was reported missing on March 8.
Ms. Smith apparently doesn’t understand irony; in her opinion piece, she criticized Peoria for having a helicopter, but then is just as critical when it was not present for an emergency situation that demanded it. In Ms. Smith’s exploitation of this sad event, she made the very case for why a helicopter is mission critical.
Our team will continue to train for these local emergencies while working with our partners at the county to ensure maximum coverage of our city and its residents. As public servants, we will continue to find ways to not only save Peoria’s residents lives but their tax dollars.
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