MIAMI VALLEY — Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP) troopers are known for patrolling roads across the state, but they also work to keep people safe from the sky.
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As reported on News Center 7 at 6:00, the OSHP Aviation Unit gave News Center 7′s John Bedell a firsthand look at aerial enforcement.
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The Cleveland and Columbus Divisions of Police and the Butler County Sheriff’s Office are the only other law enforcement agencies with aviation units in Ohio.
The work state troopers do in their fleet of planes and helicopters helps fill that role for departments across Ohio.
“We average over a thousand calls for service each year, and about 70% of those calls are not for our agency, but for our partnering agencies all across the state,” OSHP Aviation Section Commander Captain Justin Cromer said.
Advanced on-board cameras and mapping systems help troopers in helicopters track wanted suspects on foot, search for missing persons, and assess damage after severe weather outbreaks.
These systems can even help make police chases safer.
“If we can get overhead in a short amount of time, generally we’ll have the units completely back off and we’ll just track the vehicle rather than be in an active pursuit,” Cromer said.
News Center 7 crews hopped in a helicopter with pilot Sergeant Andrew Edinger and trooper Alexander Elmlinger, the tactical flight officer, for a trip to the Miami Valley.
They were headed from Columbus to the Greene County Airport in Xenia. After arriving in Xenia, News Center 7 crews got in an airplane with troopers for a traffic detail.
Dayton police were getting ready to stop speeders on US-35 and I-75.
“They’re just great partners. And I can’t stress how much we value the importance of their help,” Dayton Police Department Lieutenant Randy Beane said.
Butler County-based trooper Ken Williams took News Center 7 crews back up in an airplane.
Troopers in the helicopter captured video of the airplane as it circled about 2,500 feet above I-75 through downtown Dayton.
Williams clocked drivers going 83, 86, and 87 miles per hour in a 55-mile-per-hour zone.
After the traffic detail, News Center 7 crews landed back in Greene County and took one more helicopter ride back to Columbus.
The state patrol has three hangars across the state. The main hangar is in Columbus and the other two are in Akron and Butler County.
News Center 7 will continue to follow this story.
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