As of 5 p.m. today, Tucson police choppers are back in the air, after being grounded two weeks ago due to safety concerns, authorities said.
The air unit was grounded on Dec. 23, after an outside audit determined the division to be operating at a high safety risk.
Sgt. Pete Dugan, a department spokesman, confirmed that the issues had been addressed and the three helicopters and fixed wing plane are cleared to fly.
"The areas of concern have been remedied and the unit will be fully operational as of 5 p.m.," Dugan said.
In 2015, complaints made by air support employees about the unit’s operation and policies were brought to the police chief’s attention, causing the department to request an external audit by the Airborne Law Enforcement Association, former police chief Roberto Villaseñor wrote in an email sent to city officials on Christmas Eve.
The audit report, which was completed in November, concluded that the police department needed to take any necessary steps “to neutralize what is perceived by an outsider as a toxic operational culture within the unit that goes beyond simple personality conflicts between individuals.”
“The situation that currently exists between parties constitutes what could be considered a hostile work environment for both sides,” the report said.
Assistant Police Chief Mark Timpf says the issues with the TPD air support unit were related to policy language in the unit's manual, not operational safety.
“Nothing was being operated in an unsafe manner. We have an impeccable safety record. But because of the risk that the audit found, we elected to pause things,” Timpf said last week.
The Police Department hasn't commented on the cause of the long-term dispute between the mechanics and pilots.
