Police helicopter crash in Atlanta kills 2 officers
BY AP Wire Service
Monday, November 05, 2012
11/05/12 at 5:55 AM
ATLANTA (AP) - A low-flying police helicopter searching for a runaway boy hit a power line pole before it plummeted to the ground and exploded, killing both officers on board but leaving those on the ground unharmed.
Federal authorities were investigating what caused the chopper to crash into power lines along a busy city street. Electricity was knocked out to nearby homes and businesses in an area filled with shopping plazas, fast-food restaurants and a gas station.
The 9-year-old boy was found wandering on a city street a couple of hours after the crash late Saturday night, Atlanta police spokesman Officer John Chafee said Sunday. He ran away after being scolded by his mother.
The two officers were identified Sunday as pilot Richard J. Halford, 48, of Lithia Springs, Ga., who had been with the department for 26 years, and Shawn A. Smiley, 40, of Lithonia, a tactical flight officer who joined the department two years ago.
Atlanta Police Chief George Turner praised the two officers as public servants who died honorably in search of the missing boy.
Original Print Headline: Atlanta police helicopter crash kills 2 officers
