Originally Posted by
rickair7777
Usually you need to serve as a regular cop for at least 3 years first...they usually want the pilots to know what it's like in the ground.
As a counterpoint, I went through 60 AQC with the head of the Baltimore Police aviation unit. He prefers to hire pilots and then send them through the academy. They found that too much street experience led to pilots getting wrapped up in the tactical situation and not flying the helicopter.
Same as some EMS outfits aren't told the nature of a pxt's injuries, just that the docs think it's worth a launch. Too much mission focus can kill.