Helicopter vs. ATV: Cops Battle Illegal Off-Roaders In Newark

Essex County, NJ — A battle between helicopter and ATV is taking place on the streets of Newark.

For the past several weeks, police in the Essex County city have been using police helicopter surveillance to help officers launch an offensive against illegal all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) within its borders. Tickets have been issued. Vehicles have been seized. And multiple city residents have been arrested.

On June 19, Newark police used the department's helicopter — NPD1 — to confiscate two illegal motorcycles and issue 22 traffic tickets. Six days later, the helicopter allegedly helped to end a motorcycle chase near Weequahic Park. Most recently, NPD1 was deployed on Monday during an operation that helped detectives from the Special Enforcement Bureau seize five ATVs and arrest a fleeing suspect.

But if recent statements from public safety officials are any indication, the battle between helicopter and motorcycle may just be getting started.

POLICE HELICOPTER SURVEILLANCE

Authorities said that helicopter surveillance helps officers to observe suspects’ activities from the air while directing detectives in cars to the locations of the alleged crimes.

"The helicopter keeps officers in cars from having to chase suspects in vehicles and needlessly endanger the lives of our residents,” Newark Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose said.

• See related article: Newark Cop Car Kills Teen During Chase, SWAT Arrests Others

“The helicopter is a useful tool,” Ambrose posited. “It enables us to arrest fleeing suspects in vehicles without having to chase them. It also enables arrests to be made through observations from the air that can’t be seen from the street.”

“I hope the riders of the ATVs and those attempting to flee from the helicopter get the message, that they won't be successful,” Ambrose said. “We will continue to deploy this this tactic to rid them from our streets, reduce crime and police chases.”

However, some civil rights advocacy groups have cautioned about the potential abuse of manned aerial surveillance.

“Because of the expense of using manned police aircraft, privacy invasions have not risen to the level that legislators have felt compelled to address them, but incidents do happen,” an ACLU blog post stated in 2013. “In 2005, for example, a police helicopter supposedly monitoring a street protest in New York City instead trained its infrared camera for a prolonged period on a couple making love on a pitch-black rooftop patio.”

But the ACLU opined that the expense of manned aerial surveillance may be one of the best safeguards against its misuse.

“A police helicopter costs from $500,000 to $3 million to acquire and $200 to $400 an hour to fly,” the ACLU stated. “Such expenses… mean the police are likely to use them only where they are most needed.”

A 2015 NJ.com report stated that the city has spent more than $2 million to refurbish, maintain and operate the aging aircraft.

According to City of Newark documents, maintenance service for the department’s NPD1 helicopter between June and September of 2012 cost $81,000.

NPD1 was also used in 2012 to support the City of Newark’s Homeland Security Mission by flying over the Prudential Center, the Peter J. Rodino Federal Building, power plants, FBI building, chemical facilities, rail yards and other “critical infrastructures,” according to city documents.

SUNDAY SURVEILLANCE

On June 19, Newark police used NPD1 to confiscate two illegal motorcycles and issue 22 traffic tickets during an enforcement operation aimed at owners of illegal off-road motorcycles and those “engaged in other illegal activities.”

• See related article: Newark Cops Use Helicopter Surveillance To Issue Traffic Tickets, Make Drug Arrest

According to police, Sunday’s helicopter surveillance contributed to three arrests that day:

• Newark police arrested an 18-year-old dirt bike rider who allegedly attempted to elude officers before crashing near the intersection of Avon and Farley avenues and sustaining minor injuries.
• Police arrested a 34-year-old man for heroin and marijuana possession near the intersection of South 18th Street and 18th Avenue.
• Police arrested a 39-year-old Newark man on South 15th Street after he was allegedly spotted “driving recklessly and at a high rate of speed.”

WEEQUAHIC PARK CHASE

Authorities said that on June 25, the Newark police helicopter was assigned to support the efforts of members of the Special Investigation Bureau on patrol in the southern portion of the city.

After allegedly observing an illegal off-road motorcycle being ridden “recklessly” near Weequahic Park, officers activated their police light and siren and the rider took off, police said.

He wove through traffic before leaving the road and riding into Weequahic Park, authorities said.

“The officers in the cars lost sight of the motorcyclist who was riding on the grass and behind trees and bushes as he attempted to hide his whereabouts,” police said in a news release.

However, after calling in NPD1, the helicopter was able to guide the ground officers to the 31-year-old Newark man’s location, and they arrested him without further incident.

Ambrose said that without the helicopter’s vantage, the suspect would have likely avoided capture or the officers would have had to engage in a high-speed chase.

NEWARK’S EYE IN THE SKY

NPD1 was deployed on June 27 during an operation that helped detectives from the Special Enforcement Bureau seize five ATVs and arrest a fleeing suspect, authorities said.

The helicopter was used between 3 and 5 p.m. to help officers spot suspects operating ATVs and guide officers to their locations, police said.

During the day’s campaign, the helicopter assisted with the following incidents:

• Shortly after 3 p.m., the helicopter observed three ATVs allegedly being ridden “recklessly” in the city’s central and west wards. When the trio stopped to converse near the intersection of South 19th Street and 15th Avenue, Special Enforcement detectives moved in, seized their ATVs and issued the trio 15 traffic tickets.
• The helicopter observed a second cyclist allegedly riding his ATV “recklessly” in the city’s north and west wards. When the rider stopped near the intersection of Roseville and Sixth Avenue, detectives moved in and seized his ATV. He was issued 11 traffic summonses.
• A third rider was arrested shortly before 5 p.m. and charged with eluding in addition to having his ATV seized. Police said that the helicopter’s pilot spotted him riding “recklessly” in the west ward.

Sign up for Patch NJ email newsletters here.

Send local news tips, photos and press releases to eric.kiefer@patch.com

File Photo: Shutterstock