SilsoeSid
While police officers are naturally an inquisitive bunch, they are trained to keep their mouths shut and their eyes and ears open when on a job. The place for questions is on the ground, not in the air when the pilot is concentrating on doing his job and the police observers are doing theirs.
If the expert (pilot) says, "Nothing to worry about." Then the observers would be expected to just accept that and save any further comment for the canteen afterwards.
Too much deference to the authority of an expert? Perhaps, but that is the way the Job works or used to work.
Yes I have a lapsed PPL. Yes I have an interest in aviation. Yes I have been involved in a fatal air accident investigation. Yes I have known close friends and colleagues who have been involved in a police helicopter crash - all survived but the aircraft was written off. Yes I have been directly involved with police aviation. No I don't want to give specific details for reasons of personal privacy and official secrecy.
I more than most appreciate the desire to exonerate all on board from any blame whatsoever, but the published evidence to date is not looking too good on that front. I could not read the Herald report without commenting that it contradicted pretty much all the official data published to date.