Law enforcement from across the state met at the Duplin County Airport today to talk about aviation.
Today was the largest gathering of county and municipal law enforcement aviation assets on record in eastern North Carolina.
They’re all looking for more ways to keep you safe.
Law enforcement is taking to the sky to keep you protected both on the ground and in the air.
“It allows them {citizens} to rest at night knowing that agencies are working together and that safety really is our number one concern,” said Wayne Mixon of the Eastern NC Association of Law Enforcement Executives.
Not all agencies have aviation units, so in times of need they often rely on agencies that do.
When Duplin County needs helicopters, they call the folks at the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office to help.
The Duplin County Sheriff says they’re a great resource to have.
“We’ve utilized the Wayne County unit on a regular basis, most recently for a manhunt, but before that on several homicide investigations where we were actually looking for the suspect,” said Duplin County Sheriff Blake Wallace.
The chief pilot for the aviation unit at Wayne County’s Sheriff’s Office says simple the presence of an aircraft near the scene, in most cases, can help pin down a suspect or locate a missing person.
He says most always, his sheriff has no doubt about sending out their helicopters.
“It’s just that important,” said Lt. Tom Parker. “Whenever we have a life at stake or we have a man hunt going on and this is a very violent criminal, he’s not going to say no, he’s going to say go help them, they need help.”
Response times vary depending on crew availability, weather, controlled airspace issues and maintenance.
But, Thursday’s event helped law enforcement agencies know that in times of need they can rely on others who have the resources.