Air patrols questioned
BROOKSVILLE –
When Sheriff Richard Nugent was a major, he was in charge of the department’s air unit.
He had a photo of him standing next to the helicopter in his office for years, said Chief Mike Maurer.
Maurer heads the unit today. He said his boss kept the photo all that time as a reminder to himself and to his commanders that search helicopters were special assets. They needed to be respected and not taken for granted.
“A helicopter is a nice tool to have, but we recognize there is an expense to it,” Maurer said. “We use it with a lot of restraint.”
Some residents have complained the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office hasn’t used the small fleet of helicopters wisely or even properly.
“I think (Sheriff Nugent) has too many toys to play with,” said Brooksville resident Jim Wedeking, who fired off a letter to Hernando Today last week complaining of the sheriff’s misuse of the helicopters.
Wedeking said he was compelled to write the letter after news broke of the pursuit of a suspected car burglar last week.
Ryan Joseph Cosme, 20, was arrested after he had stolen $120 from a woman’s purse that had been left in her car, deputies said.
Cosme was the victim’s houseguest and stole the money by using her car keys, according to an arrest report. He was not suspected of having a weapon.
He fled the house after the victim confronted him about the missing cash, deputies said.
She called the sheriff’s office and a helicopter was called. Cosme remained on the run for two hours before being cornered in a small neighborhood near California Street.
Cosme had an active warrant in Pasco County for a grand theft charge and was suspected also of burglarizing a car dealership, Maurer said.
That is why a lieutenant and captain working that day authorized the use of the helicopter in the pursuit, he said.
“He wasn’t the serial killer of Hernando County,” Maurer said, “but he was a guy we wanted to get our hands on.”
Maurer said the helicopter is called for an individual search on a “case-by-case” basis. The hourly fuel and maintenance cost for the one used in Cosme’s capture is between $100 to $125, he said.
A helicopter was used in the attempted capture of James “Little Man” Rayford, who was killed Sept. 10, 2009, at Hunters Lake. An internal investigation ruled the death accidental.
It stated Rayford, who was fishing at the lake, jumped out of a kayak and into the water on his own. His body was recovered the following day.
Political activist Brian Moore, who lives at a house near Hunters Lake, said he spoke to witnesses who claimed they saw the helicopter make contact with the boat and hit it so hard that it “exploded high into the air” and knocking Rayford into the water.
Rayford was on Pasco County’s most wanted list and was considered armed and dangerous.
Moore has promised to pursue the case and take it to the Department of Justice. His witnesses, however, told investigators Moore had “hounded” them and tried to coerce them into saying they saw something that didn’t happen, according to internal affairs.
Earlier this week, Moore took the matter to the Board of County Commissioners. No one on the board responded or commented.
Moore was one of the five residents who complained about the sheriff’s tactics during Tuesday’s meeting and at least one more questioned the sheriff’s office’s use of helicopters. He mentioned Cosme’s arrest specifically.
Maurer said the helicopter used in Cosme’s pursuit was vital in his capture.
“The (pilot) was watching him and tracking him,” Maurer said. “He would pop up and he would tell those on the ground where he was … It can cover a lot of area in a lot of space very quickly.”
The department uses the helicopters mostly at night and mostly focuses on rooftops and parks, which are locked at night, preventing cruisers from driving through, Maurer said. Some of the more desolate areas of the county also are patrolled at night with the helicopters, which have infrared lighting.
The department employs two pilots, who are deputies. A civilian observer also is on the payroll and he rides in the passenger seat when the helicopter is in flight, Maurer said.
When there are calls about a night-time prowler or burglar, the helicopter typically is called, he said.
Maurer said the machines are used less frequently due to budget restraints, but they still fly several times per week.
Pasco County Sheriff Bob White was prepared to ground the aviation unit, but after his department was awarded with a $4.3 million federal grant, he asked commissioners to amend his budget and allow him to operate the unit for fiscal year 2009-10.
The Tampa Tribune reported last month that a new hangar facility in Land O’ Lakes is currently in the works for White’s aviation unit.
Wedeking, who lives in Royal Highlands, thinks most of it is a waste of taxpayer money.
“What they need to do is come up with a protocol,” he said. “It’s just senseless to take that thing in the air so much. What if it crashes? And for what? A common thief?”
Reporter Tony Holt can be reached at 352-544-5283 or [email protected].
