Mayor Reed: APD helicopter crash probe to take “one year”

At the base of some utility poles near the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Hamilton E. Holmes Drive in West Atlanta, you can see balloons, American flags, stuffed dolls and flowers. Jackie Massey and others have placed those gifts there.

“I’m glad to see that a lot of people have stopped by and showing their thoughts and prayers,” said Massey.

You can still see where the incident happened on the street. The large black mark left from the crashed helicopter stretches across Hamilton E. Holmes Drive’s 5 lanes. Massey catches the bus just steps away from the site.

“I stop by here all the time,” said Massey. “But, I wanted to stop and take a few minutes just for thought, you know. Thought and prayer.”

In downtown Atlanta, Mayor Kasim Reed said he too prayed yesterday with the families of Richard Halford and Shawn Smiley; the officers who died.

“We know that we’re all hurting,” said Mayor Reed. “You literally can feel it in the building. You certainly can feel it when you look into the eyes of the families who’ve lost their loved ones.”

At a press conference Monday, Reed said the city is providing financial support and counseling to the families. Police department deputy chief Renee Propes said APD’s 7 member air unit has also been offered counseling services.

“They’re pretty emotional right now. The remaining pilots and tactical flight officers assigned to the unit. So, we want to give them some time to recompose themselves.”

Propes said the unit is not flying right now. Mayor Reed says they won’t return to the air until they’re ready. Propes said the Officers Halford and Smiley were in the helicopter Saturday night searching for a lost 9 year old boy.

“This is a routine call that the air unit would go and respond to in support of the ground units,” said Propes. “Missing children pursuits, they look for stolen cars. It’s just a matter of routine for the air unit.”

Officer Smiley was a tactical flight officer. Deputy chief Propes says Halford was flying the helicopter.

“He has been a pilot with our air unit for about 16 years always serving on the evening watch,” said Propes. “So, he was our most senior pilot.”{description}

Propes says Halford had logged nearly 3,000 flight hours as an APD officer. Officer Halford’s funeral is this Friday. Officer Smiley’s funeral is set for Saturday.