View Full Version : Crowd control by heli...
TheFlyingSquirrel
27th Aug 2005, 11:58
I always remember seeing a beach riot on TV somewhere in CA and the cops were using a 206 to fly at people to try and scatter them. What other methods of crowd control, maybe not so reckless, can be used to contain/disperse crowds of people ? Has a water cannon ever been mounted on a heli or fire fighting machines used for this purpose ?
I've seen the AH64 used for crowd control once, hang a 4-ship at 500ft about 200 meters away, and the crowd tuned back!
(In Bosnia, but h***l, it might work in CA too! :D)
aeromys
27th Aug 2005, 17:34
The PA system has often been used, perhaps not so much for crowd control, but certainly for crowd advice.
The old Met 222's had a connection whereby an incoming Police radio call could be relayed live over the PA, so that a ground commander could issue a dispersal message directly via the helicopter. The switch is still there in other UK police fits on all the PA/Siren panels I've seen but is no longer connected that way.
chopperdr
28th Aug 2005, 15:45
strobbing sx-16 from spectrolab are very effective at crowd disorientation!
dr
B Sousa
28th Aug 2005, 16:42
Best crowd control would be via the use of 2.75 inch rockets with Flechettes. May not be polictically correct though.
The beach scene as mentioned above was, I believe, Huntington Beach Police Department in Southern California. They did utilize the Hughes 500. I dont know what they use at this time. It could have been others but HB is notorious for big problems on crowded beaches.
SASless
28th Aug 2005, 18:28
One could get Erickson Sky Crane to send Elvis or Bubba down with their nose mounted water cannon....spray purple water to mark the crowd....now that would be a sight!:ok:
http://www.ericksonaircrane.com/images/EACalbum2/thumbnails/CannonCU.jpg
Thud_and_Blunder
28th Aug 2005, 19:11
Was once tasked to fly a Fire Bucket sortie (pre-Bambi) in a Wessex to help sort out a riot at Stanley Prison in HK. Didn't launch in the end; we managed to persuade the tasking authority that 1200 lbs of anything being dropped from a height is potentially lethally OTT.
B Sousa
29th Aug 2005, 02:28
"we managed to persuade the tasking authority that 1200 lbs of anything being dropped from a height is potentially lethally OTT."
To digress a bit, thats a very true story. Back in my early days when TBMS, F7Fs, B-17s etc were used in fire work I have certainly seen the "Ball" not break before hitting the ground and uprooting trees. It has also been fatal to more than one forest worker.
But in a Prison??, collateral damage is OK...........
airspeed999
29th Aug 2005, 21:16
Israel used to use Cobras. My anorak partner says they use Apaches now.
http://www.checkpoint-online.ch/CheckPoint/Images/N-GuerreIsrael-5.jpg
Sally