‘Chopper Cops’ and Star SAFIRE 380X Docuseries Q&A
With the season 2 premiere of 'Chopper Cops' on Paramount+, audiences are about to get an all new set of stories showcasing the hard work of Marion County Sheriff Department's airborne unit and their trusty Star SAFIRE 380X system saving lives and leading chases in real-world, high-stakes scenarios as the docuseries recounts the missions and successes of this close-knit group of Florida TFOs and their extended teams.
On June 16, Teledyne FLIR Defense's Wilsonville facility was honored to host the Chief Pilot and Aviation Unit Commander Darren Bruner for a tour of the manufacturing facility, as well as a live Q&A with employees. Darren was kind enough to sit down to talk to our staff about his experience with the 380X, as well as what it's like to create a behind-the-scenes look when you happen to be the scenes.
Q: During the show, they spend a lot of time not just with the TFOs, but they talk with the maintenance guys and other people supporting the airborne unit. Even the helicopter and camera are described as characters in some points. One of the helicopters is described as a "diva." How would you characterize the 380X's personality?
Bruner: That one? High class. Very classy.
When she's on her game, she's on her A-game. When we went to these systems, we called them our game-changers. You see in the first episode, that you can see the gun in that man's hand, and you know it's a gun. And when I tell people on the ground, they don't really understand what I mean. So we've taken deputies up with us so they can see it. I can tell the difference between a dog and a cat with this camera system. It's absolutely amazing.
A game-changer. Not only have we caught several bad guys, but we have located several lost people. Where we're from [in Florida], there's a very large elderly and retirement community. With that comes issues like Alzheimer's. People wander off and things like that. So to be able to find that person and get them home safely, or that little child, a 2- or 3-year old who wandered away from home and then we're able to find them hunkered down in the woods somewhere so we can get them back to their parents--that's your equipment that has done it.
And then the wonderful training program where you have come out and showed us how to use the system. It's not all us. We would not be able to do what we do without your equipment.
Q: When you're out there, what's a consistent challenge, whether you're trying to find someone who's lost or someone who does not want to be found?
Bruner: Weather. Weather can kill us on occasion. And of course, time. Sometimes they'll call us two, three, four hours into a call and expect us to go find whoever is out there. And when you're a bad guy, three, four, five hours, you can be in Seattle by then. So that could hurt us sometimes. But when they don't want to be found, that's when the wonders of this camera system come around.
All I need is a little piece of you. That's all I'm looking for is that little piece. And we've actually used that camera system, and found someone just by using their forearm.
They were up in the rafters of an old house, and there was a hole in the roof. As we came by, you could see that little bright spot in that roof that should not be there. So you send somebody up there, and there are bad guys up there holding on for dear life in the rafters.
You can get a guy hiding in a dumpster. You stay on that dumpster long enough, that dumpster, when he's leaning up against it, will start glowing. We know that dumpster should not be glowing.
It's crazy. Once you learn how to use it, it's amazing.
Q: How do suspects commonly react to the helicopter arriving? Are they surprised when they found out that the camera catches them when they’re being “sneaky”?
Bruner: They are. Some of them have gotten wise, but they haven’t quite learned how good the camera system is because we’ve caught people as far as two miles out. By using the camera system and flying just right, we had a pursuit where they had dumped a couple people out, and they were hiding. We doubled back and came around, and were two miles out. I was on the camera that night. I brought it up two miles down the road, and at a mile, mile-and-a-half away, that’s when they start hearing the helicopter, and we literally catch them putting their heads up and running.
I’m thinking, I’ve got you now. Because once I get on them with that camera, they’re not going anywhere.
Q: How is it different going from working on Season 1 to Season 2?
Bruner: They’ve done a great job. The editing has been really well done. I was involved in some of these episodes and even though I lived through it, I was on the edge of my seat watching it. And I’m like, wait a minute, I was there!
Q: How many hours a day are you out flying?
Bruner: Normally three to four hours a day is what we try to do, doing directed patrols and security flights. We’ll hit some of the higher crime areas and commercial areas, and we’re always looking because one of the great things about the system is that I can look at a car and tell you how long the car has been there. So if we’re out at let’s say one or two o’clock in the morning and we come over a closed business and I’ve got a car parked around back and the wheel wells are hot, we can see they shouldn’t be there and we’re going to start looking.
Q: What do you want viewers to see and understand about the work of the aviation unit from seeing the show?
Bruner: We take everything we do seriously. With this system we’re able to do our damnedest to find what we’re looking for. If that’s a missing child or a missing elderly person, we’re going to put it all into that recovery.
We don’t want to think that we’re just up their doing loops and making noise. By using the Star SAFIRE 380X system, we’re able to come into an area and the guys on the ground, the deputies, we’ve got their confidence. We know we’re doing something right when we have that confidence. They call for our support all the time, and this is because of the equipment we use and the professionals that we have.
Our people are true professionals. Now we like to have a good time just like anybody, but when we’re on the job it’s job time. We want everyone to see and know that we’re out there to do the best job possible.
Trailer Link: Chopper Cops | Season 2 Teaser | Paramount+ - YouTube