RENTON, Wash. — The King County Sheriff's Office (KCSO) unveiled its newest safety tool to assist with the most important missions in western Washington, a new helicopter known as Guardian One.
The KCSO said it's the most advanced helicopter in service. It can operate in the most unpredictable weather conditions and is capable of assisting first responders in any situation. It allows the sheriff's office to respond to emergencies throughout King County within 20 minutes. It cost taxpayers $6.8 million but KCSO said it was well worth it.
"It was more and more expensive to fly the older helicopter because it needs to be repaired to keep up to standards. So, going with new, it's like buying a new car,” said Jeff Flohr, the division chief of Special Operations Division at KCSO.
Flohr said it’s a massive upgrade compared to the other helicopters in its fleet. In addition to the new Guardian One, KCSO will still have two Hueys in its Air Support Unit as well as a 407 helicopter, which had been the primary patrol helicopter since 2008. It will be shifted to the backup to Guardian One.
"The possibilities are endless as far as what we can do for helping bring things to a self-resolution," said Josh Sweeney.
Sweeney is one of the four pilots that will be flying the Guardian One. He's thrilled to utilize this new tool that will give officers an upper hand. "We give them real-time top-down situational awareness that they don't have,” said Sweeney. "We're above them and we can make it safer for them and also for the public."
KCSO said Guardian One will serve western Washington for at least the next 10 years.
"I fully believe this helicopter will find missing people, this helicopter will save lives intervening in pursuits, and it will save lives by de-escalating and trying to find people who may have committed a crime and solve that situation without using force," said Flohr.