SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — The city of Tijuana has purchased a helicopter for its police department, Mayor Montserrat Caballero announced earlier this week.
She called the aircraft a gift to the city’s Security and Citizens Protection Department, the official name for the municipal police agency.
“This is to recognize their efforts and hard work,” said Caballero. “On a daily basis, our municipal police is the one that makes the most arrests, confiscates the most weapons, and now imagine what the department can do with a helicopter.”
She also emphasized this will not be for her personal use.
“This is not for me, it’s for the city,” she said. “Tijuana deserves recognition for its resources, this was sorely needed.”
The last time the city had police helicopter patrols was in 2017 when a helicopter called “Pegasus” crashed, killing both pilots.
Since then, previous administrations have purchased drones and other other aerial platforms to patrol from the air.
“Our finances are healthy, our savings are enough to allow us to purchase the aircraft,” Caballero said.
She told reporters the helicopter cost 20 million pesos, about $1.2 million.
“The aircraft will be used at times for search and rescue and in areas that are hard to access where delinquents tend to hide.”
The helicopter is scheduled to be delivered by Oct. 1.
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