CLEVELAND — Cleveland police are now saying a dispute over a fuel invoice was what grounded the police chopper. The Aviation Unit was out of service for roughly two months.
According to Public Safety Director Karrie Howard, they didn’t want to overpay.
But the choppers didn’t fly when police impersonators terrorized the city last month. And when one finally did return to service, it was for the Cleveland Guardians home opener.
Director Howard and Police Chief Wayne Drummond were asked about the Aviation Unit during today’s council public safety committee meeting.
Right now, one chopper is flying and the other is down for refurbishing. Before the Guardians home opener on April 7, the last time the chopper was up was Feb. 9, nearly eight weeks ago.
It wasn’t available during a case for a Durango believed to be part of the police impersonators cases that started back on March 7.
"There was a dispute with the — concerning the invoice amount, that was a momentary matter," Howard said. "It was resolved. We want to make sure that we are paying our bills for the amount that we owe, not an amount above that...was us really being good stewards of taxpayer dollars."
When News 5 Investigators asked Drummond if someone forgot to pay a bill, he didn’t answer. But again told us the issues were resolved and wanted to make sure things are accurate.
“I think what's important is to know that we are doing our very best to make sure our helicopters are up and flying and providing a service to our citizens in Cleveland. I think that's the main thing,” Drummond said.
Howard told Cleveland City Councilman Mike Polensek they are current on what they owe for fuel.
Drummond says they’ll pretty much have brand-new choppers once both are refurbished.
He expects they’ll be able to fly more hours.
Howard said at some point they’d like to offer paid training for officers who want to become pilots. Right now, there are two full-time pilots and three part-time pilots.
RELATED:Cleveland police chopper available for Guardians home opener but not recent chase
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