Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About DPD's Air1

Since 1998, The Denver Police Air Support Unit, Air1, has been responsible for the capture of numerous criminals including fleeing felons and the safe termination of high speed vehicle pursuits. Air1 has assisted in searches for missing persons and lost children, provided assistance to surrounding jurisdictions, assisted in drug suppression activities and engaged in general crime prevention efforts.

Air1 - Bell 407: She pretty...

Air1 is the only police air support helicopter in Colorado. It provides support to agencies around the state when available.

She's also fast.

Air1 flies at about 800 feet above the city and about 140 MPH. In a single, 2-hour shift, Air1 can respond to about 24 calls.

Air1 is usually first on the scene.

Over half the time, Air1 is first on the scene of dispatch calls. Pictured here are suspects that Air1 is tracking until police on the ground arrive.

Air1 is a safety tool for ground officers.

Air1 helps officers on the ground set up perimeters as big as 3x3 city blocks, or can search a roof or back yard. They can give ground officers instant information about the environment they are heading into.

Air1's camera is very powerful.

With Air1's FLIR (infrared & color camera with zoom lens) they can search for anything on the ground, under-ground, in water, and hidden under trees etc. They can even tell if someone is hiding in a closed dumpster and which graves are fresh at a cemetery. Air1 can orbit over a 5X5 block area instantly and if they see something that matches the description they can study it more or send officers in to check it out.

Air1's spotlight is BRIGHT!

The spotlight on this beauty is 30 billion candlepower.

Air1 assists in about 1300 searches per year.

Air1 gets called in to search for fleeing felons, missing persons and lost children. They also assist in the safe termination of high speed vehicle pursuits.

Air1 is the best seat in the house...