Modesto panel OKs police airplane

Members of a Modesto advisory committee support the Police Department’s proposal to spend as much as $660,000 for a crime-fighting airplane equipped with a spotlight and high-definition camera with night vision.

The Safer Neighborhoods Community Advisory Board held its first meeting Wednesday. Police Chief Galen Carroll said board members supported the proposal. He said the next step will be to bring the proposal before the City Council’s Great Safe Neighborhoods Committee, formerly the Safety and Communities Committee.

Carroll said he hopes the committee will hear the proposal in January. If committee members endorse it, the final step would be taking the proposal to the City Council for approval.

The Police Department wants to purchase a Flight Design CTLEi aircraft from Airtime Aviation in Tulsa, Okla. Officials have said the plane would cost $202,030 and the camera would cost $332,029. The remaining costs would include a computer, police radio, training and installation.

Police officials say the two-seat plane costs a fraction to operate vs. a helicopter or conventional aircraft and would be flown by volunteer pilots and police officers who are pilots. Carroll has said the plane would be used in patrol, special operations, traffic enforcement and helping officers on the ground during crimes in progress. He said the plane would serve as a “force multiplier” when department staffing is at its lowest level in many years.

This story was originally published December 12, 2015 at 2:45 PM with the headline "Modesto panel OKs police airplane."