Overview
The Special Operations Division is comprised of two sections:
- The Aviation Section
- Executive Services Section.
The Aviation Section provides statewide aerial enforcement, rapid response, airborne assessments of incidents, and transportation services in support of the Patrol’s public safety mission. The WSP Aviation manages a Beechcraft King Air, three Cessna 182s, and two Cessna 206s equipped with Forward Looking Infrared cameras, aerial mapping, and live video downlink. The Aviation Section’s L&I Detachment provides security for Labor & Industries Headquarters through an interagency contract.
The Executive Service Section (ESS) consists of the Executive Protection Unit (EPU), the Capitol Campus Detachment, and the Governor’s Mansion Detachment. The EPU provides personal protection for the Governor and first family. The Capitol Campus Detachment provides contracted law enforcement services on the 468-acre Washington State Capitol Campus which includes four parks: Marathon, Heritage, Sylvester, and Centennial. The Governor’s Mansion Detachment provides security of the first family while in residence and of the mansion facility and grounds.
Key Measurements and Statistics
The Aviation Section continues to make great strides towards its goal of providing sustainable aerial traffic enforcement and traffic congestion management by concentrating efforts to bolster certified pilots. Pilots are recruited from the ranks of commissioned troopers and sergeants. While some trooper pilot recruits have previous flight experience, Aviation continues a program started in 2017 to train non-pilot experienced troopers to achieve Federal Aviation Administration certifications to support Private, Instrument, Commercial, Multi-engine, and Airline Transport Pilot operations. These efforts continued in 2020 with student pilots recruited under this program completing private pilot and instrument certifications, with another completing multi-engine co-pilot training.
Successes of 2020
Aviation Section partnered with the United State Air Force to test Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) laser safe glasses. AFRL technology will be pivotal in fielding laser eye protection for Washington State Patrol Aviators during day and night operations where they are regularly subjected to illegal laser strikes from individuals on the ground. The U.S. Air Force multi-spectrum laser protective eyewear with unique tint will allow continuous night use during flight operations, filling a void left by current issue laser glasses which are day use only.
Aviation Section also partnered with Motorola and Churchill Navigation engineers to develop, test, and implement Geo Fencing technology on agency aircraft. The goal of the joint venture is to add real-time ground unit location data to the FLIR (Forward-Looking Infrared) equipped aircraft camera display. The Geo Fence system will indicate trooper badge ID numbers on a moving map display within a five nautical mile radius of the aircraft. This will aid in patrol vehicle identification and location during day and night operations. Aviation will be the first to implement this safety technology in a law enforcement airborne environment.
At the end of the 2020 Legislative Session in March 2020, the Executive Services Section began an unprecedented spring and summer of rallies and protests related to the Covid-19 quarantine, civil unrest related to nationwide law enforcement uses of force, and political tensions related to the Presidential and Washington gubernatorial campaigns and election. While there were 70 protests and rallies on the capitol campus in 2019, we experienced well over 150 protests and rallies during 2020, most of which were unpermitted events. Most of these events were managed in a Covid-19 environment with the added health risk to responding troopers.
Campus Detachment troopers worked in partnership with the Department of Enterprise Services on the Capitol Campus to manage an increasing number of individuals living in vehicles parked on the Deschutes Parkway. Health safety issues associated with unintentional leakage of sewage from failing systems, intentional dumping of sewage and gray water, as well as environmental hazards resulting from the intentional dumping or unintentional depositing of oil, gasoline, anti-freeze and other vehicle fluids as a result of vehicle repairs on the Parkway quickly became a concern to other users of the area.
Hazards to pedestrians and other motorists as well as additional infrastructure damage was mitigated by enforcement of illegal behavior and the connection of those living on the Parkway to services which facilitated their relocation to more suitable locations.