Community Day Offers Safety and Education(posted Aug 7) The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Northwest District offered a one-stop shop to gather community information at its first Community Day at Guion Creek Middle School on August 1. IMPD not only had a chance to showcase its tactical and specialty crime fighting programs, the department also coordinated with other community groups, businesses and government agencies to educate and offer services to teach people to live healthier and safer lives. IMPD Aviation helicopter pilot Lt. W. Scott landed a helicopter on site to educate the community about patrolling from the sky between 700 to 1,800 feet. His partner. IMPD Officer Donna Courtney, conducts the search by operating the infrared light while Scott flies the estimated $2 million chopper. The department has 4 helicopters. The oldest is a 1968 model and the newest is a 2002 model. Two helicopters operate at night while one helicopter is devoted to day training, patrol, photo flights and surveillance. Courtney said it takes about nine months to learn to make identification from the heat signatures with the infrared cameras. She said it is not uncommon to confuse a statue with a person because a statue is radiating heat that it has captured during the day. Conversely if a criminal is hiding in a parked car, his heat can be detected from the windows. Scott explained the recent air crash of the two television helicopters covering a police chase has prompted a meeting with the local media and medical emergency crews. All three groups use the downtown heliport. "Safety is the number one issue. We all want to go home at the end of the day," he said. "IMPD has a good rapport with the media and medical emergency pilots and we'll respect each other's airspace. This is not true in some other areas between the police and media," he said. The helicopters go through maintenance after 100 hours of flight time. He noted at 5,000 hours the helicopter's blades are replaced, not refurbished, at a cost of $180,000. Scott is so sensitive to the helicopter's vibrations that he can even detect when smashed bugs have increased the vibration level. Mark Killgo of the Lafayette Square Area Coalition Business Crime Watch Committee came to support IMPD's first community day. Scott and Killgo engaged in a conversation about the N500PD that identifies the helicopter. Scott said the name was acquired from a private individual who had it on his plane. He didn't say how it was paid for but that the acquisition did not cost the taxpayers. Killgo, coming from a racing background, said it is not unusual for the car owners who have won the 500 or to claim the pole position to obtain the 500 number for their private aircraft. There is nothing like animals to appeal to children and IMPD captured their attention by having two horses that serve on the mounted patrol division on hand for children to pet. Children were fascinated by Comet and Little Boy's grass eating abilities. IMPD Mounted Patrol Officer Teresa Pritchett said the two horses arrived last fall from a prison in Louisiana. Although the prisoners breed horses, they do not train them for mounted police duties. She said each horse has a different learning curve. Little Boy wasn't ready until April to patrol the streets. Pritchett and Little Boy also participated in the pageantry of the Indy 500 Parade with other mounted horses. 12 year old Comet took very little training before he was placed into service. The horses are retired around the age of 21 or 22. There are 11 horses in the mounted division. Marshall Lewis, a former Marion County Alliance For Neighborhood Association President, said he organized the first community appreciation day in 1997 to honor the IPD in the Haughville area. Lewis still remains an activist as he hosts a breakfast with Santa to help over 3,000 children in the Wayne Township area. Lewis was busily recruiting for the December 15 event. He told State Representative Phil Hinkle to write the event on his calendar. Dr. Kno was on site to celebrate Indianapolis' attainment for reduced particulate matter and ozone. The City has been struggling to reach the EPA's attainment for the last ten years. Besides serving as Dr. Kno to teach youth about reducing ozone levels, Chris Larosa monitors the ozone levels and particulate matter around the state. Marion County Health and Hospital was on site to teach the public about lead poisoning. Children often are exposed to lead from playing outside around older homes built before the 1950s. Lead paint was used in most of these homes. The children become toxic with lead as it flakes off. The paint falls off into the soil and remains there. The department is also finding out that many of the Hispanics and Latino children are suffering from lead poison from using the family's ceramic table ware. The food is absorbing the lead from the glazed finish. The community day also provided the health department with a chance to inform parents about free immunization shots for school kids. Students must be immunized for Polio, measles, mumps, rubella, Hepatitis B and Varicella. |
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