WATCH: Tuscaloosa Police Air Patrol Unveils New Headquarters

TUSCALOOSA, AL — Dozens of dignitaries were on hand Wednesday for the official unveiling of the new headquarters for the Tuscaloosa Police Department's Air Patrol.

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Located at the Tuscaloosa National Airport, the new facility will be the central hub for the department's aerial operations and provides ample hangar space for numerous helicopters.

The helicopters are a versatile asset for TPD, with on-duty pilots able to stay nearly three hours in the air on a full tank of fuel during high-stakes search and rescue operations. They also provide the department the ability to easily transport everything from members of the department's Special Response Team to bomb detection dogs.

Unable to see the video link below? Click here for a sneak peek at the new Air Patrol HQ on our Tuscaloosa Patch YouTube channel.

While Unmanned Aerial Vehicle technology — known commonly as drones — are used to great effect by the TPD Special Response Team, TPD Chief Brent Blankley pointed out on Wednesday that a drone pilot still have to drive to the location of an incident before the drone is in the air.

"They perform two very different aspects of law enforcement," Blankley said. "We need a strong aviation unit because they can do things drones can't do. And we're very luck and fortunate t0 have a city and City Council and mayor that believe in the aviation program that we can do a lot of things with."

Indeed, the City of Tuscaloosa has been a pioneer in law enforcement aviation, becoming the first law enforcement aviation unit in the state in 1971 when the city obtained a Hiller FH-1100 helicopter, according to TPD records.

The helicopters have obviously evolved over the years to become the multi-million dollar machines outfitted with the latest technology that they are today and are more beneficial than ever for TPD operations — from high-speed pursuits to Alabama football game days.

Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox concurred and pointed out that the renovation of the hangar was paid for through Elevate Tuscaloosa — a collection of initiatives funded by revenue generated from Tuscaloosa's 1-cent sales tax.

"When we pledged to do Elevate Tuscaloosa back in 2019, we made public safety one of the cornerstones," Maddox said on Wednesday. "In fact, 20% of every dollar out of Elevate goes directly into public safety, including projects like this. Our helicopter division is absolutely unique in our state and it provides an incredible service to the people of Tuscaloosa that I work for to keep them safe and secure."

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