Police Helicopter

Eighteen months after Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake voted to approve the purchase of four new helicopters for the Police Department, her proposed budget called for grounding one of them in a cost-saving move. But within days, the administration reversed course and said Thursday it intends to keep all four choppers flying in the unit known as Foxtrot. Police likely will have to find the projected $1 million in savings elsewhere in their budget. It is unclear how the cut became part of the proposed budget, which was unveiled last week.

Eighteen months after Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake voted to approve the purchase of four new helicopters for the Police Department, her proposed budget called for grounding one of them in a cost-saving move. But within days, the administration reversed course and said Thursday it intends to keep all four choppers flying in the unit known as Foxtrot. Police likely will have to find the projected $1 million in savings elsewhere in their budget. It is unclear how the cut became part of the proposed budget, which was unveiled last week.

A police helicopter assisting with a car-theft arrest crashed last night in the middle of a street in the Walbrook area of Baltimore, injuring the two officers aboard.Police said the helicopter was demolished in the crash.It was piloted by Flight Officer John W. Rennie, 46. He and the aerial observer, Officer Charles M. "Mike" Crocker, 29, were taken by ambulance to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where officials said the men were in serious but stable condition today. Both were conscious and able to describe the accident, authorities said.

Maryland State Police and sheriff's deputies in Queen Anne's County are investigating what they call the "suspicious disappearance" of a woman who they say has been missing for two days, and a dive team will search part of the Chesapeake Bay today. The woman is identified as Robin L. Pope, 51, of Stevensville. She is described as a white female, 5'4", 105 pounds, with brown hair. Police said that until December 2012, Pope had been residing with her husband, Wayne A. Pope Jr., in Stevensville.

The driver of a dirt bike plowed through a red light at a West Baltimore intersection Wednesday and broadsided a red sedan, but the most serious injuries suffered by the car's driver didn't come from the crash, according to city police. A department spokesman said a passenger on the dirt bike quickly hid the cycle in an alley and then returned with friends who beat up the car's driver so severely that he had to be rushed to Maryland Shock Trauma Center, police said. The teenage bike passenger was arrested and faces assault charges.

Three Woodlawn Precinct police officers were injured Tuesday night while pursuing the occupants of a Jeep suspected of being used in at least two armed robberies. Police said the officers were in separate cruisers about 8:35 p.m. when they observed the Jeep at Security Boulevard near Forest Park Avenue and pursued it for a short distance, during which the Jeep collided with at least one police car. Police said three males in the stolen car were arrested moments later while fleeing on foot.

A 74-year-old Caroline County woman died Friday after the van she was driving struck the back of a parked tractor trailer, state police in Easton said yesterday.Sara Woodward Eash of Greensboro and her husband, a passenger in the van, were flown by state police helicopter to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center.Ms. Eash was pronounced dead at about 8:20 p.m., police said.Her husband, Alden Eash, 76, was hospitalized in critical condition yesterday, police said.Ms. Eash was driving a Ford van on Foxgrape Road, off Maryland Route 313, at 7:15 p.m. when she struck the back of the truck, which was parked in front of a house, police said.

Three Woodlawn Precinct police officers were injured Tuesday night while pursuing the occupants of a Jeep suspected of being used in at least two armed robberies. Police said the officers were in separate cruisers about 8:35 p.m. when they observed the Jeep at Security Boulevard near Forest Park Avenue and pursued it for a short distance, during which the Jeep collided with at least one police car. Police said three males in the stolen car were arrested moments later while fleeing on foot.

Crash kills woman from Union Bridge areaA 33-year-old Union Bridge-area woman, who state police said was not wearing a seat belt, died after a head-on crash Monday on Route 550 north of Libertytown in Frederick County.State police said Lori A. Llewellyn, of Fountain School Road, was ejected from her 1985 Jeep when it overturned after the 7:30 a.m. collision.Police said Ms. Llewellyn was pronounced dead at Washington County Hospital, where she was flown by a state police helicopter.Investigators said Ms. Llewellyn was driving north on Route 550 when she apparently lost control of her vehicle on the icy road, crossed the center line and collided with a 1992 Pontiac driven by Earl A. Mayne, 45, of Thurmont.

Recently, I participated, observed, and learned from the Baltimore Police Department. For the past few weeks, I had seen notices about a Community Safety Day that was to be held at the Police Training Facility on Northern Parkway and Park Heights Avenue on Sunday, June 26. So I went. It was a very interesting afternoon, especially to see the different equipment, vehicles, supplies that are available to the police in its job of not only protecting Baltimore citizens but also in teaching safety in all areas.

Police shut down a section of South Charles Street near Cross Street Market in Federal Hill Saturday night after a sea of purple flooded the street following the Raven's win over the Denver Broncos. Barricades were set up at the intersection of South Charles and West Hamburg streets, and southbound traffic was held up for several blocks. The police helicopter, Foxtrot, was called in to broadcast the message that revelers needed to disperse. Officers - on foot, horseback and in vehicles - saturated the area around the market.

A half-hour police chase of a stolen vehicle through southeastern Baltimore ended about 5 p.m. Tuesday with the driver being arrested after a foot pursuit, according to city police. Police began tailing the stolen silver vehicle about 4:30 p.m. and at one point followed it onto a local highway, said Detective Nicole Monroe, a police spokeswoman. But most of the chase - which involved the police helicopter Foxtrot - occurred in the city, including the streets of Canton. The vehicle, which Monroe did not identify, was seen by one passerby traveling north at a high rate of speed on S. Clinton Street near Fait Avenue, with police patrol cars in pursuit.

The 50-plus cops sent to the downtown and Inner Harbor on summer weekends are indeed finding criminals. Last weekend alone (Thursday night through early Sunday), they made 40 arrests, including 10 for drugs and two for guns. Police released the stats as the debate over how to combat crime in the city's premier tourist attraction continues, with two state lawmakers now saying the city should admit its overwhelmed and ask for state police intervention. Read more details about that plea, and the city's stern rejection, in today's story . Two of the arrests made last weekend were for guns.

Some are out of work. Some can't afford to visit a doctor. Others are sick of corporate greed. Most blame financial institutions for the tumbling economy. They think the rich are trampling on the poor and middle class and getting away with it. They're fed up, and they're willing to camp out in downtown Baltimore to voice their complaints. Protesters staging Baltimore's version of Occupy Wall Street converged on the Inner Harbor on Tuesday, bringing an array of grievances but one common theme — corporate America and government have bankrupted the country and their pocketbooks.

Fire trucks ringed City Hall Wednesday afternoon, snarling Baltimore's rush hour traffic, after "light smoke" was discovered on the sixth floor of the historic building. Fire Chief Kevin Cartwright said about 5 p.m. that the cause was under investigation. "At present all light smoke has dissipated and firefighters continue" to look for the source, he said. Employees slowly left the building, with none of the urgency evident a day before, when an earthquake unnerved most in the city and led to mass evacuations from government and private buildings.

Anne Arundel County and Annapolis will mark the 28th annual National Night Out, an anti-crime neighborhood program, with free events Tuesday night. All events include children's activities and refreshments. National Night Out Against Crime is aimed at promoting safety, strengthening a sense of community and fostering neighborhood relationships with police by enjoying time outdoors with neighbors and learning about crime prevention. Participants traditionally keep a front or porch light on. Community events include civic groups and law enforcement agencies, although individual neighborhoods and blocks may hold smaller gatherings, officials said.

One of five men suspected of pulling an 89-year-old woman from her car and throwing her to the ground before stealing the Buick on Thursday was arrested yesterday after two officers spotted it near Waverly, where the woman lives.Police said they arrested Donald Douglas Hayes, 25, of the 1800 block of E. 33rd St. after following the stolen car for several blocks in Northeast Baltimore with the aid of a police helicopter. Mr. Hayes was charged with carjacking, assault and robbery and assaulting three police officers.

Responding to criticism by a state commission that they weren't doing enough to protect the shoreline from development, Anne Arundel County officials have launched an ambitious enforcement program, including the use of a helicopter to locate waterfront trouble spots. Last year, the county was rebuked by the Critical Area Commission, which enforces a state law limiting development within 1,000 feet of the bay, for failing to properly enforce the law and follow up on reported violations.

Corinne Young's son was diagnosed with autism when he was 18 months old. But even after his years of consistent therapy and in-home support, she fears he might one day wander away and not return. "I think that's every parent's nightmare whose child is autistic," Young said. "They're vulnerable, they're very easy prey. " Her son, Garret Young, now 18, has wandered off before, once finding his way into the creek on a vacant 27-acre farm when the family lived in New Jersey. Recently, he wandered away and was found hiding behind patio furniture at a local department store when he was out shopping with his mother.

Recently, I participated, observed, and learned from the Baltimore Police Department. For the past few weeks, I had seen notices about a Community Safety Day that was to be held at the Police Training Facility on Northern Parkway and Park Heights Avenue on Sunday, June 26. So I went. It was a very interesting afternoon, especially to see the different equipment, vehicles, supplies that are available to the police in its job of not only protecting Baltimore citizens but also in teaching safety in all areas.