Letters to the Editor: Must the LAPD always send helicopters? Our ears need a break

To the editor: Thank you for reporting on the overuse of helicopters by the Los Angeles Police Department.

I live in the west end of the San Fernando Valley and watch and hear the LAPD’s birds fly over every day. They fly low, and their noise is quite disturbing.

At $2,916 per hour, according to the L.A. city controller’s office, flying aimlessly around the Valley is a huge waste of money. Let’s restrict their use to situations in which a helicopter is a great backup for patrol cars.

Richard Krzemien, Woodland Hills

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To the editor: It always worries me when the bean counters at the city controller’s office think they know how best to deploy the LAPD’s resources.

“Rightsizing” (Orwellian doublespeak for downsizing) the Air Support Division will only result in more suspects eluding capture and our police officers being deprived of a critical tactical asset when they may need it the most.

Does City Controller Kenneth Mejia not realize this, or does he just not care?

Bill Sutton, Glendora

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To the editor: Pair the LAPD helicopter noise with that of the unchecked media helicopters during Taylor Swift’s recent appearance at the Grove, and you have entire neighborhoods under siege for hours on end.

A recent event at Pan Pacific Park turned a lovely, sunny Sunday in my neighborhood into a vibration-filled onslaught caused by unnecessary LAPD helicopter surveillance for potential violence that never occurred.

Toby Horn, Los Angeles