KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Missouri Police Department says that a new set of eyes in the sky are going to dramatically improve their ability to fight crime.
The three new helicopters unveiled by the department on Tuesday use state of the are equipment to help make it easier for officers to take bad guys off the street.
The department had been using decade-old technology on Vietnam War-era helicopters. The new helicopters use infrared cameras with a lazer illuminator, a moving mapping system with multiple street overlays, a microwave downlink system that allows officers on the ground to see the birds-eye view in real time and three new pairs of night vision goggles that can turn night into day.
The new helicopters cost just short of $3 million each, and were paid for using federal grants and the public safety sales tax.