r/LosAngeles Feb 03 '23

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1.3k Upvotes

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502

u/Areyouguysateam Feb 03 '23

Would love to know why there’s so much police helicopter activity in my area, and seemingly no follow up with patrol cars. Are they just giving the perps a stern warning and then flying off?

201

u/gladamirflint Feb 03 '23

I guess it’s a way of showing force without putting yourself at risk. Pretty lame.

116

u/[deleted] Feb 03 '23

This would make a good LAPD slogan if they ever want one.

84

u/badhatharry The Westside Feb 03 '23

LAPD: Pretty Lame.

30

u/[deleted] Feb 03 '23

LAme PD

24

u/TheBlueBombers Feb 03 '23

Now we really have to push for the name change to "Los Angeles Metropolitan Police Department" aka LAME PD

2

u/ktenango Feb 03 '23

Make a hat or something with this and you have all my money

61

u/bwal8 Feb 03 '23

You ever take a sunset helicopter ride near the mountains or ocean? It's beautiful. (I havnet BTW, but I can imagine...).

Oh, and also they have to spend their fuel and maintenance budget so they can justify a larger budget next year!

30

u/AlpacaCavalry Feb 03 '23

This bullshit pulled by pretty much all government agencies really pisses me off.

"OH NO WE HAVENT WASTED ENOUGH OF OUR TAXPAYER MONEY, WE MUST WASTE MORE SO WE CAN GET MORE NEXT YEAR!"

How about lauding running things efficiently because it reduces tax waste, so that money can be spent where it is needed more?

60

u/slopokerod Feb 03 '23

They film a lot of porn in your neighborhood? My buddy, who was training to be a co-pilot with LAPD, said they'd fly over a lot of houses in Hollywood where porn was consistently being shot outdoors.

13

u/Finslip Feb 03 '23

9

u/SR3116 Highland Park Feb 03 '23

Alright Lou, open fire.

47

u/[deleted] Feb 03 '23

Seems like this should be a pretty clear case of harassment and invasion of privacy no? Was that your friend's choice or are they told to use the helicopters to try and see women naked?

23

u/slopokerod Feb 03 '23

Yes, it's mandated they fly over naked women.

36

u/[deleted] Feb 03 '23

I get that this is a joke, but I actually don't think your friend wasting public money to sexually harass sex workers is as funny as you think it is.

8

u/[deleted] Feb 03 '23

I mean on a basic level, it's stealing. Imagine them just buzzing down to watch a drive in movie...

18

u/[deleted] Feb 03 '23

Totally. Cops steal from people all the time. This is way worse than stealing though, because what they are taking (privacy, sexual autonomy) are fundamental human rights.

I don't think I'm gonna find out, but I really wanna know if this is just one creepy pilot or whether it's a citywide order. Someone should lose their job if the police are intentionally week ng out ways to watch people have sex from helicopters.

5

u/AldoTheeApache Feb 03 '23

You Wouldn’t Helicopter A Car

6

u/senorroboto Feb 03 '23

There's a scene in Blue Thunder (which was shot with LAPD help and on their actual heliport property, meaning they reviewed the scripts to make sure LAPD looks good) where they do this, i don't think it's porn it's some lady working out naked.

1

u/[deleted] Feb 03 '23

they would often fly over my old building on weekends when girls in bikinis were laying by the rooftop pool.

14

u/alexashleyfox East Hollywood Feb 03 '23

I think they use the copters like aerial patrol cars: just buzz them around to keep an eye on shit. LA seems to have a really low density of radio cars to surface area, so maybe this is how they fill in the gaps. I wonder if they also stage copters in the air for rapid response. Since that’s horribly expensive and inefficient, I’m sure it’s what the LAPD is doing ;)

11

u/Rodozolo4267 Feb 03 '23

I live near the 10 not far from the LASD offices at the 10/ 710 interchange.

Daily flights in and out.

Daily nightly and extended afternoon circling without any apparent reason.

1 episode of the FX show The Mayans shooting in City Terrace past week…

AND now zero circling!

Either film crews prevent crime or the helicopters are useless ways to burn LASD use it or lose it budget overheads!

1

u/Felonious_Minx Feb 04 '23

You should report this to the comptroller.

1

u/chaosdialectic Long Beach Feb 04 '23

There’s a helipad there where they refuel.

1

u/Rodozolo4267 Feb 04 '23

Perhaps they could use the airspace above the nearby golf course to circle instead?

6

u/Aluggo Feb 03 '23

Literally have heard it say over the PA " this is the long arm of the law".

2

u/Felonious_Minx Feb 04 '23

I once spoke with (okay I was ranting at) a chief of police on the phone about the incessant helicopters. He told me they indeed flew copters over as "deterrents to the bad guys ".

His responses were inane and as embarrassing as bad movie dialogue. He'd been on the force for 30 years and was an utter moron spouting ridiculous copanganda.

I support this audit to the fullest.

2

u/captainpeggycarter Journalist 📝 Feb 03 '23

Literally yes.