Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office

Pioneered by Sgt Ed Wilkinson who used to fly his own helicopter on patrol in the 1960s, the Sonoma County Sherrifs office started fling his own Bell 47 Angel 1 from 1972. Sgt Wilkinson died in a tragic accident in 1977.
Angel 2, a Hughes 369 was acquired in 1977 which unfortunately was lost in a crash accident that killed both Deputy Sheriffs aboard, Brent Jameson and Bliss Magley,
In 1981 they received a MD500D, Henry 1, but was retired in 1982 after numerous mechanical problems .
From 1983 to 2008, the Sonoma County outsourced the helicopter service to private vendor which provided both the helicopter and the pilot, a Bell 206, then 206L and finally a 407.
In 2008, they decided to return to the owner model and acquired a Bell 407 from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD).
In June 2018 was replaced by a brand new Bell 407GXP with glass cockpit and mission equipment.