[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 138 (Tuesday, October 6, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1922-E1923]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


 U.S. PARK POLICE AVIATION UNIT CELEBRATES 25 YEARS OF SERVICE TO OUR 
                            NATION'S CAPITAL

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. CHARLES H. TAYLOR

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, October 6, 1998

  Mr. TAYLOR of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, last month, the United 
States Park Police Aviation Unit celebrated its 25th anniversary of 
service to the nation's capital. We all remember the vivid heroics of 
the unit in the Air Florida crash rescue on the Potomac River in 1982, 
and the valiant effort here at the Capitol earlier this summer. I know 
all Members will want to join me in congratulating Park Police Chief 
Robert Langston and the Unit on this important anniversary of service. 
As the Washington Times puts it ``Park Police take to the air in any 
and all emergencies.''

         Park Police Take to the Air in Any and All Emergencies

                          [By Kristan Trugman]

       A 36-year-old man on a motorcycle collides with another 
     motorcycle as the two men swerve to avoid a piece of wood in 
     the road near Crofton. The man slides across Route 450 and is 
     in need of medical help.
       Within minutes, the phone rings about 5:20 p.m. Saturday at 
     the U.S. Park Police Aviation Section--called the Eagles 
     Nest--at Anacostia Park.
       Sgt. Kevin Duckworth, 36, a pilot, and Officer Doug 
     Bullock, 32, a rescue technician, look at a map, grab their 
     helmets and climb into Eagle 1, a twin-engine helicopter. 
     They head to Crofton to fly the victim to Prince George's 
     Hospital Center in Cheverly.
       The helicopter lands in a grassy field at Crofton Middle 
     School and waits about 10 minutes for an ambulance to arrive 
     from the accident scene about 6 miles away. At 5:55 p.m., 
     Sgt. Duckworth lifts the helicopter off the ground; five 
     minutes later, doctors at the hospital are examining the man, 
     who will recover.
       The Saturday mission is one of more than 6,000 medical 
     evacuations performed by the helicopter section since 1973.
       The section is best known for its rescue of passengers in 
     the January 1982 crash of an Air Florida jet into the 14th 
     Street Bridge and Potomac River.
       Most recently, it flew a mortally wounded Special Agent 
     Officer John M. Gibson, 42, to the Washington Hospital Center 
     on July 24 after the shooting at the U.S. Capitol that also 
     killed Officer Jacob J. Chestnut, 58.
       While those missions highlighted the aviation unit in the 
     news, its primary role and about half of its work is law-
     enforcement operations. The officers in the sky patrol assist 
     officers on the ground almost daily.
       Since the demise of the Metropolitan Police Department's 
     helicopter branch in 1996, the Park Police has the only law-
     enforcement aviation unit in Washington. Its main function is 
     to assist the U.S. Park Police, but it also helps medical and 
     law enforcement agencies across the metro area.
       At the crew's discretion and depending on the number of 
     hours the helicopters have flown in a month, officers can 
     patrol in the air, usually for about an hour.
       ``You fly for an hour and you feel you've been through the 
     wringer. It can be fatiguing,'' says Officer Ronald Galey, 
     49, who has been a member of the unit since 1977 and a pilot 
     since 1987. A few minutes later, he and Officer Bullock take 
     Eagle 1 up for patrol about 9 p.m. Saturday night.
       The helicopter whirls past the U.S. Capitol, the Washington 
     Monument and the Lincoln Memorial, all glowing in the night.
       The officers let dispatchers know they are in the air and 
     available for assistance.
       ``Let's see if we can find an aggressive driver or two,'' 
     Officer Bullock says.
       In the next few minutes, the officers spot aggressive 
     drivers along the Baltimore-Washington Parkway and again on 
     the Capitol Beltway near the American Legion Bridge. The 
     officers shine a spotlight on the drivers, who quickly slow 
     down.
       ``It lets them know someone is watching them,'' Officer 
     Bullock says.
       The rain and chill in the air Saturday night apparently 
     kept criminals indoors.

[[Page E1923]]

       ``It's pretty quiet out there,'' Officer Bullock says as 
     his eyes scan the ground and he listens to the police radio. 
     ``I'm not at all surprised, given the weather,'' Officer 
     Galey says.
       After an hour, the officers land the helicopter, refuel, 
     fill out paperwork and wait for the next call.
       In its 25 years--an anniversary the unit celebrated in a 
     recent ceremony--the section has flown more than 25,000 hours 
     without an accident. Since January 1994, the unit of 15 
     officers--six pilots, seven rescue technicians who are 
     certified paramedics, and two administrators--operates 24 
     hours a day.
       Park Police formed the aviation section in April 1973. It 
     provides support for law enforcement, emergency medical 
     evacuation for trauma patients, search-and-rescue missions, 
     presidential and dignitary security, and transportation of 
     high-risk prisoners.
       Congress funds the unit--part of the U.S. Department of the 
     Interior--that flies about 1,000 hours each year. The unit 
     has two helicopters--Eagle 1, a Bell 412 SP, and Eagle 2, a 
     Bell 206 Long-Ranger. Funding for a third helicopter is 
     included in the $8.5 million budget for the aviation unit in 
     the D.C. appropriations bill.
       The two helicopters have thermal imagers that indicate heat 
     and help officers find criminals hiding in woods or 
     trespassers in federal parks after dark. They also have high-
     intensity searchlights, which is what the officers focused on 
     the aggressive drivers.
       The twin-engine helicopter has a rescue hoist system that 
     has 245 feet of cable and can lift 600 pounds. The officers 
     also have radios on board that allow them direct contact with 
     officers on the ground.
       From 1991 to 1997, the unit responded to more than 9,500 
     calls for assistance, performed more than 2,376 medical 
     evacuations and responded to more than 730 search-and-rescue 
     operations. It assisted on more than 3,360 criminal calls and 
     979 arrests and provided more than 812 flights for the 
     president and other dignitaries.
       ``That's why I like it here. There's a variety,'' Sgt. 
     Duckworth says.
       When the helicopters are in the air, the rescue technicians 
     handle the operation while the pilot concentrates on flying.
       Officer Galey particularly enjoys the flights chasing 
     fleeing criminals in cars. They are challenging, he says, 
     because while watching sky, the pilot also is forced to 
     divert his attention to the car on the road.
       ``And you're a little lower than you normally would be. 
     There are a lot of towers to be cognizant of,'' he said.
       Most pilots and rescue technicans agree that the most 
     difficult operations are those involving injured 
     children.``Nine times out of 10, it's because an adult messed 
     up. They are victims of circumstance,'' Sgt. Duckworth said, 
     sitting at aviation headquarters, where a gray cat has taken 
     up residence and keeps the mice away.
       Officer Galey said fewer patients are dying while en route 
     to hospitals because, through the years, medics on the ground 
     have been better trained and are more equipped to stabilize 
     patients before they are put into the helicopter.

     

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