Helicopter paying dividends for Law Enforcement

The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office has a powerful tool to help fight crime and save lives in Oconee County.  Ranger One, the Sheriff’s Office helicopter, as already been put to great use.  For its pilot, Dan Suddeth, aviation has been a huge part of his life since he was a child.  Suddeth’s mom would take him to the airport, where he would get a chance to go flying.  He had his private airplane license when he was a teenager, and when he went into the military, he went to Army flight school.  Suddeth flew with the Army for a number of years and became an instructor pilot.  He also flew with the South Carolina National Guard, and eventually became an employee of IBM as a marketing rep.  He retired from IBM after about twenty years and continued to be activated from time to time by the Armed Services, which included at one time a three-year stint at the Pentagon.  After retiring from the military, he continued to fly, including a helicopter he privately owns now.  “This work that I am doing now with the Sheriff’s Office started with Sheriff Crenshaw asking me to evaluate the program with my past experience,” says Suddeth.  “Coming from the military and civilian, you have a standard operating procedure of here’s what we do with this tool.  To give the Sheriff something to evaluate, I put together a program.” The Sheriff’s Office has three officers in the tactical flight program, Kevin Cain, Justin Ward, and Josh Sheriff, which are qualified deputies who sit in the left seat and help in the helicopter operations.  They are experienced law enforcement officers, according to Suddeth, who train to learn what to look for from the air, which happens at a faster pace.  Ranger One has also participated in enforcement, including warrant activities and drug interdictions.  This demonstrated to officers on the ground, according to Suddeth, how effective the helicopter program can be.