Jun 272020
 

Police aircraft are frequently spotted circling around peaceful protests around the country. These aircraft are typically equipped with high-powered cameras with equipment capable of recording and transmitting the video captured by the equipment. This article focuses on law enforcement aircraft used in the San Francisco Bay Area.

At a protest one week after San Leandro Police shot and killed Steven Taylor on April 18, 2020, an Oakland Police helicopter with the tail number N220PD was observed circling protesters as they drove to the Walmart where Taylor was killed.

Oakland Police Department McDonnell Douglas 369E helicopter N220PD. Photo by Mike Katz-Lacabe.
Oakland Police Department McDonnell Douglas 369E helicopter N220PD

N220PD has a FLIR 8500 camera that installed in Jan. 2016. According to the manufacturer, the camera has thermal imaging and can auto track a target or scene and point a laser to direct ground forces.

Examples of what the FLIR 8500 camera is capable of can be seen in this promotional video from YouTube.

The Oakland Police Department’s other helicopter, tail number N510PD, also has a FLIR 8500 camera.

Oakland Police Department McDonnell Douglas 369E helicopter N510PD. Source: flickr.com
Oakland Police Department McDonnell Douglas 369E helicopter N510PD

An East Bay Regional Park District Police helicopter with tail number N996PD was seen circling Oakland during protests against police brutality in the wake of the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. N996PD has a FLIR U8500XRLP camera that was installed in 2010.

East Bay Regional Park District Police Eurocopter AS350B2 helicopter N996PD. Source: flickr.com
East Bay Regional Park District Police Eurocopter AS350B2 helicopter N996PD

A second East Bay Regional Park District Police helicopter with tail number N708PD also has a FLIR 8500 camera, a high-intensity SX-16 searchlight and a basket/pod attachment for rescues.

East Bay Regional Park District Poice Eurocopter AS350B3 helicopter N708PD. Source: flickr.com
East Bay Regional Park District Police Eurocopter AS350B3 helicopter N708PD

The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office has a Cessna U206G airplane, tail number N5525U, with a FLIR 8500 camera, Avalex AVR8000 digital video recorder, and BMS BMT75-9P Microwave Downlink System.

Alameda County Sheriff Cessna U206G airplane N5525U

The Alameda County Sheriff’s second airplane is a Cessna 206H with tail number N10CX. It is equipped with a FLIR 8500 camera, and a Garmin GTN750 navigation system. On May 10, 2022, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors approved nearly $700,000 to install a Wescam MX-10 camera system and a Churchill moving map system similar to the one on its new Bell helicopter.

Alameda County Sheriff Cessna 206H airplane N10CX

The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office will soon have its own helicopter: a Bell Textron 505 Jet Ranger X equipped with a Wescam MX-10 camera system, Trakkabeam TLX Searchlight, AEM 300 watt Loudhailer loudspeaker, and Churchill ARS700 Map System connected to the MX-10 camera and TLX Searchlight. The no-bid $3 million helicopter purchase was approved on October 29, 2019, by the Alameda County Board of Supervisors.

Alameda County Sheriff Bell Textron 505 Jet Ranger X Helicopter N911AC

A California Highway Patrol airplane, tail number N137HP, was also seen circling the George Floyd protests in Oakland in June 2020. This Gippsaero is equipped with a Wescam MX-15 camera, Uniden BCD536HP scanner, and Rho Theta RT-600 Multi-Band Direction Finder.

California Highway Patrol Gippsaero GA8-TC230 airplane N137HP.

According to the manufacturer, the Wescam MX-15 camera is ideal for “covert intelligence, surveillance & reconnaissance,” has thermal imaging, a laser illuminator to highlight targets and can track targets. A demonstration of its capabilities can be seen on YouTube.

The Contra Costa County Sheriff helicopter, tail number N408CC, is a Textron Canada 407, with a FLIR Star Safire 380-HDc camera system with a thermal image infrared sensor. The camera is interfaced to a searchlight slaving system, two video monitors and a Churchill augmented reality system (ARS-600). Like other surveillance cameras, it can automatically track targets. The FLIR Star Safire 380-HDc camera and its capabilities can be seen in this YouTube video.

Contra Costa County Sheriff Bell N408CC Textron Canada 407 helicopter N408CC

The San Jose Police Department helicopter, tail number N408PD, is an Airbus AS 350B3, with a Wescam MX-10 camera, Trakkabeam A800 Searchlight, Churchill ARS700 Map System, and a Power Sonix (“The Sound of Homeland Security”) loudspeaker.

San Jose Police Department Airbus AS350B3 helicopter N408PD
San Jose Police Department Airbus AS350B3 helicopter N408PD

The Sonoma County Sheriff helicopter, tail number N108SC, is a Bell Textron 407 with a Wescam MX-10 camera, Aerocomputers UC6000 digital mapping system, Aero Dynamix night vision imaging system, Luminator HSL-1600 searchlight, and an AEM LS600 loudspeaker.

Sonoma County Sheriff Bell Textron Helicopter N108SC. Source: flickr.com
Sonoma County Sheriff Bell Textron Helicopter N108SC

Note: An earlier version of this article was posted to Oakland Privacy.

August 22, 2022 Update: The Alameda County Sheriff has a second airplane. It is a Cessna 206H with tail number N10CX. We have included details above with the other two aircraft owned by the Alameda County Sheriff.

Sep 012015
 

According to documents from the California Highway Patrol (CHP), it has purchased 216 Vigilant Video license plate readers between June 2011 and April 2015. In addition, an undated document on automated license plate reader statistics indicates that there were 86,899 alerts for 27,545,659 license plate reads, a hit percentage of 0.3%. In other words, 99.7% of the data gathered by the CHP’s license plate readers was essentially mass surveillance on people not suspected of or charged with a crime.

The license plate readers were purchased using homeland security funds in batches of 120 on June 30, 2011, 73 on February 13, 2012, and 23 on March 9, 2012. The bid specifications are dated June 27, 2011, and the contract was from February 6, 2012, to February 5, 2015. The total cost of the license plate readers was just over $2 million ($2,050,644.01).

Section 2413(b) of the California Vehicle Code states, “The Department of the California Highway Patrol may retain license plate data captured by a license plate reader (LPR) for no more than 60 days, except in circumstances when the data is being used as evidence or for all felonies being investigated, including, but not limited to, auto theft, homicides, kidnaping, burglaries, elder and juvenile abductions, Amber Alerts, and Blue Alerts.”

Here are some photos of the Vigilant Video license plate readers mounted on a CHP Ford Explorer:

CHP_ALPR_Explorer

CHP Ford Explorer with Vigilant Video license plate readers

CHP_ALPR1

CHP Ford Explorer with Vigilant Video license plate readers

CHP_ALPR_top

Top view of Vigilant Video license plate reader mounted on CHP Ford Explorer.

Source documents: