HOUSTON, Texas (KXAN) — A Houston police officer was killed and another was injured early Saturday morning after an HPD helicopter crashed into an apartment building, KPRC in Houston reports.
According to reports, the crash occurred at the Biscayne At Cityview Apartment complex north of the city near the Greenspoint neighborhood.
Police Chief Art Acevedo said the officers were using the helicopter from the department’s Air Operations Unit to investigate reports of bodies floating in the bayou.
“They responded right before 2 a.m. and within minutes we got reports from the Houston Forensic Science Center crime scene unit that was working a murder scene at the 17000 block of Imperial Valley that our helicopter had gone down,” Acevedo said.
Both the pilot and co-pilot were trapped in the wreckage of the crash while crews from the Houston Fire Department, police department and Harris County Sheriff’s Office worked to free them.
Once extricated, both officers were airlifted to Memorial Hermann Hospital. One officer died and the other is in a critical condition with serious injuries. No one in the apartment complex was hurt.
The cause of the crash is being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Agency along with the Houston Police Department.
The HPD is suspending flights as a precautionary measure and will receive air support from the Department of Public Safety and the Harris County Air Operations division.