Don't think I have ever seen Bryn Elliot say anything good about the MD 900. This may or may not have anything to do with the fact that Eurocopter are big advertisers in PA News!
Police aircraft are often grounded due to role equipment problems as well. The "recent two week stretch" (of downtime) could have been due to the upgrade of the Police Tactical Radio system, something that all police units in this country are looking forward to in the next year or two or three.
The MD900 is a much better aircraft than the EC135 in all respects. Sadly customers are being discouraged by the spares situation. Having said that, the supply of Eurocopter spares is not always as good as it could be.