{"id":585,"date":"2021-04-22T09:11:54","date_gmt":"2021-04-22T17:11:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oaklandmofo.com\/?p=585"},"modified":"2023-07-29T14:31:22","modified_gmt":"2023-07-29T22:31:22","slug":"oakland-police-helicopter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oaklandmofo.com\/blog\/oakland-police-helicopter","title":{"rendered":"Oakland Police Helicopter Flying Over Now – Possible Reasons Track It"},"content":{"rendered":"

Why is the Oakland Police Helicopter flying now?<\/strong>\"oakland
\nIf you’re wondering why there are helicopters over Oakland right now, here are several ways to find out.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Oakland Police Scanner<\/a> app.
    \nSearch for it on your phone you should find a free version.<\/li>\n
  2. Sign up to get text updates from the Oakland Police Department.
    \nI have instructions on our     murder rate<\/a> article.<\/li>\n
  3. Make sure it’s not just a car accident on 880 or 580 with Sigalert<\/a>.<\/li>\n
  4. You can try the Twitter feed<\/a>. A surprisingly good source.<\/li>\n
  5. Track its live flight path<\/a> activity right now.<\/li>\n
  6. Another OPD<\/a> scanner<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    You can actually check any helicopter over Oakland with that method.
    \nYeah, I know. Cool, right? You can even check what news helicopter<\/strong> is flying now.
    \n\"opd
    \nNote<\/strong> that most of you moved here during the stretch where the Oakland Police Helicopter was grounded due to funding. Now that it’s back you think if it’s flying it must be riots or protests. However, the fact is ARGUS was a major tool for OPD and used to fly every day most of the day. There is a lot of crime in our city and now that the funding is being restored you should just get used to the police helicopter as part of your normal everyday background sounds of the Oakland soundtrack along with the ambulances and police cars.
    \nWelcome back ARGUS! TOWN BUSINESS<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

    Oakland Police Helicopter Facts:<\/h2>\n
      \n
    • OPD’s Helicopter Air Support Unit was started in 1971<\/li>\n
    • ARGUS stands for Aerial Reconnaissance Ground Unit Support. I was told this by two Oakland Police Officers during my High Schools career week in 1996.<\/li>\n
    • The Helicopter Pilot of ARGUS goes by the call sign of Eagle One when on the radio to dispatch and assisting ground units. I learned this while listening live to a manhunt unfold on the scanner app<\/a> mentioned above.<\/li>\n
    • Argus Panoptes was a giant with a hundred eyes known as the all-seeing in Greek Mythology<\/a>.<\/li>\n
    • ARGUS crashed in 1973 killing two Oakland Police officers. Several reports say the pilot was shot in the head by a sniper and a group even claimed<\/a> it yet the final report says it was a mechanical failure even though the pilot had a bullet hole in his head. Fishy?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      You may wonder where the Oakland Police Helicopters have been hiding these last few years. Our Ghetto Birds<\/a>(yes we have two) have been grounded for the last many years. In 2009<\/a> budget cuts forced the choppers to stay on the ground… outside of a hanger. Where they have been battling weather damage since they were moved from Hangar 1 to the South Field outdoors. I’m not sure of their exact homes at this time but I believe they are still sitting outside where they can sometimes be seen from Hegenberger.<\/p>\n