The price was right for the Utah Department of Public Safety's two new helicopters that will be used in the war on drugs.
The Defense Department is leasing them for free. The new OH6 Observation helicopters were originally tagged at $170,000 apiece."Though the price was right, the process was arduous," said Doug Bodrero, Public Safety commissioner. "Senator (Jake) Garn and the governor have been dogging the Department of Defense for two and a half years to get these helicopters."
OH6 helicopters were used by the U.S. military for aerial observation in Vietnam. Utah officers will use them for aerial surveillance of drug trafficking activity and for observation during major drug arrest operations.
The copters will also be used to monitor gang activities and suspects in chases. It will also be used in natural emergencies where usual access routes have been disrupted.
"The drug problem is big, and progress toward the solution is slow," Bodrero said. "But we are making progress, and part of the reason is because of joint efforts between federal, state and local government agencies like we are seeing today."
The first helicopter will go into service Monday.
Bodrero said it will now be simpler for other states to obtain surplus equipment under a new law passed by Congress to cut red tape. "But we were standing in front of the line long before the law was passed," he said. "I would like to think that we blazed the way on this one."