Your eyes weren’t deceiving you if you saw police helicopters fly overhead last week with officers in full tactical gear strapped to the side.
Officers attached to Bucks County’s South Central Emergency Response Team and South Emergency Response Team from across the lower portion of the county took part in training that involved the Philadelphia Police Department’s two Eurocopter AStar Tac Air helicopters.
Advertisements
The training involved classroom and real-world activities last Wednesday and Thursday.
Northampton police Chief Michael Clark, who is involved with the South Central Emergency Response Team, said among the most visible training was officers strapping themselves to platforms attached to the sides of the choppers as they were picked up and dropped off at various locations.
Advertisements
Some of the training involved tactical operators dropping in atop buildings at the Lower Bucks County Joint Municipal Authority’s plant off Route 13 in Bristol Township. Daniel Doyle, Tullytown’s police chief, said training also took place behind Borough Hall in a large field.
Advertisements
The training was designed to familiarize officers with the helicopters and how to keep safe while using them for dangerous calls, Clark said.
The two Tac Air helicopters took part in a similar training last September in the Doylestown area.
