Atlanta Police and the National Transportation Safety Board are continuing to investigate a helicopter crash that killed two Atlanta officers last night.
Officers Richard Halford and Shawn Smiley were looking for a nine-year-old child outside of the city on Saturday night when their helecopter was tangled with powerlines and went down. The helicopter crashed at the intersection of Hamilton E. Holmes Drive and Martin Luther King Drive around 10:30 p.m.
No one on the ground was injured.
“I am deeply saddened by the terrible accident that claimed the lives of two on-duty Atlanta Police Department officers,” said Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed in a statement after the crash. “We mourn these two brave men and offer our deepest condolences to their families and loved ones. We also pause to extend out sympathy to the men and women of the police department who place their lives in harms way every day to keep our city safe, and who especially feel the pain of this loss.”
While the wreckage has been moved, federal officials continue to investigate the accident.
Georgia Power is reporting that the crash stopped power service to around 1,200 residances.
