helicopper

"One" as in civilian, perhaps. Every police officer keeps a round chambered. It's only on TV that you rack the slide to chamber a round as you start chasing a bad guy!

Aviation speak for "mission".

You sure they're going to be at 5500 feet? At that altitude today they're going to be in the clouds and that won't be much of a media event. Looking forward to hearing them at least!

Fascinating perspective. You're right this is not a police state, it is a democratic republic. Have you ever been to a police state or another country where the police do have carte blanche? It's a lot different than NYC or anywhere else in the country! Cops do not have an all access pass for anything. They DO however have a reasonable expectation to go home at the end of their shift in the same condition they were at the start. Laws exist to protect the police; you're not allowed to resist arrest under any circumstances. If the arrest is deemed unlawful, you're given many options for redress later. Yet there are those who routinely ignore those laws and resist arrest subjecting the officers to injuries and unfortunately many times death. When the lowlifes stop disobeying the police who are lawfully carrying out their duties and the lawyers and "activists" stop accusing the police of wrongdoing after EVERY arrest, we'll stop needing CCRB. It's not simply up to the police. As for Volpe or Livoti, don't compare the 40,000 other cops doing the right thing with them! They got what they deserved and they no longer carry the badge!

I'll concede that there are plenty of opportunities for abuse of the disability system but this case is certainly not one of them. This trooper volunteered for a special duty assignment on a tactical team and this is the thanks he gets. Disgusting! Link to article: http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008804270353

I presume that you mean the retirement disability option. If he doesn't meet the requirements for full-duty as specified by the Division of State Police after 24 months he will be terminated.

This goes both ways. There have been incidents where the airport deemed an external response unncessary and did not call the three local departments. They were sharply criticized for that so the response went back to this one. The three departments each send a couple of pieces of apparatus and we wind up with the rundown listed. Given that I've been criticized in the past for questioning responses, I have to ask why is everyone so riled up about this one? Isn't that the mantra?

Some of the posts of younger members may be naive but I think for the most part they contribute as much as anyone over 18. As for spending time explaining something, yes I would try to talk to the 17 year old the same way I would anyone else. He's 17 today but will be tomorrow's EMT, probie or recruit so why not give him more perspective? I give them credit for being on here and stating an opinion.

This is an emotional subject for officers who can face the exact same type of treatment. The frustration comes from the fact that a disability pension is less than full-pay, limits your employment options for the rest of your life, and is not the desired conclusion of a career in law enforcement. This is an otherwise healthy, relatively young, trooper who doesn't want to retire with a disability pension but rather return to work. The State Police have no option for him other than full-duty and they require that within 18 months (two years if granted an extension). Every other PD that I'm aware of has some sort of assignment that an officer can perform until he or she is back up to 100%. Who's to say that with another year of surgeries and therapy he wouldn't be 100%? That's yet another source of frustration. The Academy idea is a great one but the current regulations don't permit it. As for the above response, imagine how you'd feel if this were a firefighter and you related closely to his plight. No need to take the response personally it's more indiciative of the frustration with the situation.

9/11 has nothing at all to do with the level of responses for an airplane crash at a regional airport. And there may not be any more hazards at a plane crash of this nature compared with an overturned SUV; in fact the SUV probably weighs twice as much as this particular airplane. As for a tiered response, that is an excellent idea - one that the airport and local chiefs are finalizing right now. While you're absolutely right that billions have been poured into emergency services since 9/11, the intent was not to bolster the response to this type of incident. It is just a positive side affect. As for a plane of this type being used to ferry a WMD, this type of plane can't carry much more than three adult passengers with a full fuel load so that's a plausible but unlikely scenario. Using your threat analysis, the SUV on 684 could carry 10 times the WMD that the airplane could. Why don't we respond to all rollovers on the interstate as a potential terrorist event? Simply because lacking a credible threat we have to temper our responses with a small dose of reality. DHS is not paying us to prepare for incidents such as this. DHS subsidized departments' preparedness for terrorist events, something that was sorely lacking prior to 9/11. In fact, the attention to terrorism was so focused that DHS caused agencies' to lose focus on all the other hazards that they face. A problem being remedied with "all-hazards" preparedness programs. Let's get off the DHS programs to thwart terrorism and go back to the original question - why such disparate responses to airport incidents when compared to highway incidents with equal or greater hazards?

Great pictures! Thanks alot for sharing them! Just a clarification... The Bell 407 is designated Air 2. The Hughes OH-6A (our original helicopter) is designated Air 3. We're probably called more different things by more different people than any unit I know of.

So based on the majority of comments here this is really only going to benefit the Village of Brewster and Town of Southeast. With that in mind, why is the county paying for it and not the town and/or village? 20% of the county's population will enjoy a subsidy from 100% of the population.

If the impetus for this is the failure to cover calls how can you say they're trying to "push out volunteer EMS"? The "County" is trying to represent its constituents and insure that they all receive adequate medical attention. I don't think anyone is trying to build an empire - there are far more lucrative areas and far less contentious services for that. Frankly, if the departments that are failing to cover their calls stepped up and did something (as Philipstown did by providing its own paid crews during the day) or if the towns that are ultimately "responsible" (in quotes because the municipal responsibility for EMS is vague at best) did something to insure that calls within its borders were covered the County wouldn't have to. The County is stepping in because nobody else is doing anything about the problem and because it is now a County problem - when 3 towns are getting toned out to cover the same call, that's a big problem and it reduces EMS coverage for the rest of the County. Tell me, does anyone know if the County will now subsidize the Philipstown crews as they are subsidizing the agencies in medic 4's area? Everyone's upset about becoming a BLSFR - why aren't you upset about getting toned out with two other agencies for mutual aid and then getting cancelled when someone finally covers the call? Doesn't that get old and frustrating? I would also like to see the stats that the County is using; I'd also like to see the revenue produced by billing to see if a real countywide system could be established without hiking my taxes through the roof! And finally, nursing home calls are more often than not legitimate calls for service - they may not be as exciting as an extrication call or other trauma but those patients are someones grandparents or parents - maybe even your own. The NH may need to be educated better about how and when to summon ambulances but those patients deserve the same level of care and prompt response as anyone else.

It is nearly impossible to analyze a situation such as this without having been there. So many variables make the situation different. Maybe the officer who fired 31 times was closest to the vehicle that Bell rammed. Maybe he was between vehicles and had no escape route causing him to perceive a greater threat than the other officers who fired less. Perhaps, in the thick of the adrenaline filled minute, he thought he was being fired upon when he heard the other officers fire. Did the vehicle stop immediately or did it keep spinning its wheels, bouncing off cars, causing the officers to fear that they were still being threatened with harm. Was it a training issue? Was it the fact that they were all tired (it was after all like 4 AM) and not functioning at 100%? We'll likely never know the answers to these questions and all the others that you can come with as you "what-if" the scenario. There were lots of problems with this incident but I never believed that there was any criminal culpability so I'm glad they were acquitted. As someone already posted, now they'll have to defend against the civil and departmental trials and those surely won't be pretty! As for the differences of opinion, we're all entitled to them. There's no need to take personal shots at each other over them!

This pilot is only for one small area of Putnam that suffers from high call volume. I don't believe that 30 days will be enough time to really assess the value of the program but its a step in the right direction.

This isn't sick leave. This is an injury which in most police/fire retirement systems is not the same as sick time. Unfortunately for the troopers that apparently doesn't apply to them!

Why shouldn't Empire bill for the services they provide? If they fill in where a volunteer crew can't, they should recoup the expense of the service. As a first responder you're still caring for the patient regardless of who transports. To toss your commitment to the community because of a change in the system where you operate - a 30 day trial at that - is pretty weak. Give it a chance. It may work in your area and improve the system or it may not and eventually go away. Abandoning your role in that system is a sure fire way to see it change and you won't have any say in those changes. It must also be pointed out that our taxes are already funding the BLS response system that, in many parts of the county, is failing. If that money was redirected into a real EMS system, the additional expense to County residents would be much less offensive. I'd be far more agreeable to paying additional taxes for guaranteed EMS service than for golf courses and horse farms!

Cause first of all it's only the universal sign of distress if you know that and unfortunately there is no more education in schools about our flag or etiquette or anything else - as evidenced by the people who stand there with their hats on during the National Anthem or don't bother to stand at all. The distress signal would have been clever and not at all inappropriate. The flag is only supposed to be flown at half staff for certain deaths of public officials. The flag matter is disgraceful. As for walking out because the popular Chief was removed, I agree with you guys! That's not what the job is all about. Public Safety first!

Is there enough volume in 30 days to really assess the efficacy of this program? And, not to stir the proverbial pot but, who's paying for this? The County or the local agencies that are unable to cover their own calls?

Given the hazards, why not get real wildland PPE? I know this isn't the Western US but fire is fire, isn't it?

Nice idea but with the rocks and terrain it wouldn't have been able to get in there. This was a nasty spot!

The bucket has a maximum capacity of 180 gallons. It can be cinched down, much like tightening your belt to reduce the capacity. This is done to keep the weight down. Once we burned off some fuel, we were able to release the cinch to the maximum capacity.

Mt Vernon HS? Any idea how they arrived at that location for you to stand-by? With the Cross County Parkway closed and incredibly heavy traffic on local roads as a result, there'd be no good way to get from MVHS to the Seminary or even into Yonkers.

Not going to take THAT bet because sadly you're probably right.

Within the same civil service system (Police or Fire - outside NYC which is a different system) there are two options... One is the lateral transfer where someone merely changes jobs. That generally requires the approval of both Chiefs/Commissioners which is why it is so seldom used today (to prevent the badge drain that Barry mentioned). I think it used to be done with NYC cops but someone challenged it because they're a different civil service/retirement system so they can NOT lateral. The other options is resignation-reinstatement. Resign from Job A today, get sworn in at Job B tomorrow. No break in service but you don't bring your seniority with you and you may start at base pay - or whatever is negotiated during the hiring process. You planning on transferring?