To: John Linsenmeyer

FAA Flight Standards Service, AFS

- 810 From: Matt Weisman Alameda County Sheriff’s Air Squadron Subj ect: Response to your questions In re Petition for Exemption Docket Number FAA

- 2013

- 0167 Date: March 26, 2013

In response to your request for specific description of the prospective transport flights that would be within the Petition Exemption, we are providing the following :

 T he context of the scope of activities of the Alameda County Sheriff ’s Office

 E xamples of flights that may be authorized

.

 Examples of f lights that would not be author ized.

 A ssociated reimbursable and non reimbursable expenses for authorized flights.

 Additional information on the tax status of the Alameda County Sheriff’s Air Squadron.

We will be pleased to provide further clarifications as needed by the FAA. If you would like to speak to me, my telephone number is 415

- 377

- 9123.

Thank you for your timely attention to and review of our Petition.

Request: More information describing an ACSAS

- sanctioned missio n, beyond the description included in your petition. What would be most helpful is an list of the types of missions authorized and those that would not be authorized. Please make your response as specific as possible.

Context :

T he activities of t he Alameda County Sheriff ’s Office (ACSO) that will generate a need for air transportation requests to the Alameda County S heriff’s Air Squadron (ACSAS) are as follows.

The ACSO is a law enforcement agency established under the California Constitution. The Sheriff is an elected official of the County of Alameda, California. The ACSO has approximately 1600 personnel. The ACSO is a member of several associations that govern law enforcement accreditations. The ACSO is among the top accredited law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and holds the following 6 accreditations.

• Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) Accreditation against 459 benchmarks. In 1996, the Sheriff’s Office was the first California agency to be CALEA accredited and h as been reaccredited every three years since.Alameda County Sheriff’s Air Squadron Petition for Exemption Docket FAA

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Page 2 of 5 3/26/2013 • CALEA Award for Excellence In July of 2011, the ACSO was the first California law enforcement agency and one of only seventeen throughout the U.S., to receive this award.

• American Correctional Association

• National Commission on Correctional Health Care

• American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors

• Explosive Ordnance Disposal

• National Sheriff’s Association Triple Crown Award

The ACSO is the Region II Mutual Aid Coordinator for the State of California. Region II is the most active Mutual Aid Region within the State of California. The Sheriff routinely responds to request s for assistance in the form of Search & rescue personnel, Search or C adaver dogs, E.O.D Technicians or SWAT personnel. Mutu al Aid requests are generally short notice requests for aid that require rapid response that may require travel to locations not served by nearby commercial airlines or not with frequent flights or with direct flights.

ACSO personnel participate in recurre ncy and specialized training programs that may require advance notice travel to locations not served by nearby commercial airlines or not with frequent flights or direct flights. ACSO management attend conferences held by accreditation associations and spe cialized law enforcement related conferences that may require travel to locations not served by nearby commercial airlines or not with frequent flights or direct flights.

Flight Authorization Process :

1. For a transportation request to become a sanctioned mission an individual within the Sheriff’s Office command structure would either initiate the request for
tr ansportation or approve and transmit the request for transportation

. 2. The authorizing ACSO manager would normally send the request for transport by the Alameda County Sheriff’s Air Squadron (ACSAS) to the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (OHSES) to the on duty supervisor

. 3. The on duty supervisor, following the OHSES Policy and Procedures, would transmit t he transportation request to the Air Squadron’s Liaison Officer (ASLO), who is a paid employee of the Sheriff’s Office

, and to th e Air Squadron C ommander, who is a volunteer member of the Squadron . The Squadron Commander is elected by the Squad ron membership. The Squadron’s flight authorization process is carried out in accordance with the Squadron’s published Policies and Procedures that are incorporated in the Squadron’s Petition for Exemption

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Page 3 of 5 3/26/2013 Squadron Membership:

1. Applicants for membership in the Air Squadron must meet a set of requirements for membership specified in the Squadron’s By

- Laws. In addition, applicants receive background checks conducted by the Sheriff’s office. 2. After the completion of the background check and with no disqualifying findings, the volunteer is sworn in as a Disaster Service W orker for the Office of the Emergency Services of the State of California and swears to defend the Federal and California Stat e Constitutions

. 3. Air sq uadron volunteers perform as emergency services volunteers for the OHSES

. 4. There is a one

- year probation period before a permanent identity card is issued as a Sheriff’s Emergency Services worker. 5. There are ACSAS meeting and train ing attendance requirements. 6. Members pay annual dues and special assessments. 7. Members are not paid for their services. 8. Members are required to have uniforms and receive a uniform allowance from the County of Alameda

.
Examples of Transport Flights to be fl own and not flown.

The following ex amples of transport flights are based upon the actual activities of the Sheriff’s Office. The flights are, however, prospective exampl es of how the Air Squadron would provide air transport to the ACSO

. All flights will be conducted in compliance with the ACSAS Policy and Procedures.

Example 1. Pursuant to an ACSO investigation, the Captain of the Eden Township sub

- station which is the Sheriff's Office Criminal Division headquarters

, might on a Monday re quest to OHSES the transport on Thursday of two investigators to the nearest suitable airport to the State Prison at Tehachapi, CA

.
The investigators are to conduct an interview of an in

- custody prisoner regarding

an on

- going investigation or active case. Many of California State Prisons are not located with easy access of an airport with frequent Commercial Air Carrier service and driving time each way to the prison may consume several hours.

The investigators would depart at 08:00 am on a Squadron flight from (OAK) to Tehachapi, CA (TSP). By car, this is 4hr 30min each way trip . D epending upon the aircraft used, this is an approximate 2 hr flight. The aircra ft arrives at TSP at 10:00am where a car from the prison is waiting for the investigators

. ACSAS

a ircraft and crew waits at TSP for 2hrs 30min while the investigators go to the prison, conduct the interview, have a quick lunch, and return to TSP. The ACS AS aircraft departs TSP at 1:00 pm and returns with the investigators to OAK at 3:00 pm.Alameda County Sheriff’s Air Squadron Petition for Exemption Docket FAA

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Page 4 of 5 3/26/2013 Example 2

. Pursuant to a mutual aid agreement, a n urgent request is made to the Sheriff, Under Sheriff, an Assistant Sheriff, or a Division Commander to provide a bomb sniffing dog and a handler to San Luis Obispo, Cali fornia. The request is approved by the ACSO, then the dog handling unit and the Office of Homeland Security and Emerg ency Services (OHSES) would be notified. I n turn the Air Squadron would be notifie d by the on duty supervisor at the OHSES. Subject to compliance with the Squadron’s policy and procedures, an available qualified crew would be assigned to the flight by the Squadron Commander. The flight would depart with a bomb sniffing dog and handler f rom the airport nearest to the OHSES which airport is Livermore, LVK . The aircraft crew upon arriving at LVK would brief the trip, prepare and file the flight plan, pre

- flight check the aircraft, a nd wait for the dog and handler to arrive. Following the ACSAS Procedures, the dog would be secured in the aircraft and the handler briefed. The destination airport would be SBP. Depending upon the expected duration of the canine team activities at San Luis Obispo , th e aircraft and crew might remain overnight at SBP or subject to the Squadron’s Policy and Proced ures the aircraft and crew might return that same day to LVK

.
Please note that the Policy and Procedures submitted as part of the Petition for Exemption, ident ify the requirements and procedures for the safe transportation of the dog and trainer

Example 3. The Transport of Sheriff's Office personnel to Law Enforcement Conferences or training events. The Sheriff's Office is an accredited Law Enforcement agency b y the Commission on Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies, or CALEA. CALEA requires annual t raining as well as attendance at law enforcement related conferences often hosted by a Sheriff’s Office in another State.

Example 4. The Sheriff's Office is in possession of various types of specialized equipment. The specialized equipment is critical to the accomplishment of the mandated services provided by the Sheriff's Office, and may be requested by a Mutual Aid agency. Transport by the Air Squadron may be a ppropriate when the equipment is needed urgently. The Squadron can also facilitate the return of specialized equipment borrowed by the Sheriff's Office on a special event basis.

Examples of flights that would not be authorized are as follows:

Example A. Pe rsonal transportation for a non

- County or non

- S heriff’s Office related purpose such as transport for t he purpose of going on vacation to his/her vacation destination

.
Example B

. Carriage of hazardous materials for w hich the Squadron is not authorized to carry or the available aircraft is not properly equipped or the crew properly trained

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Page 5 of 5 3/26/2013 Example C. Transportation for which there are frequent and direct commercial air carrier flights with seat availability for those travelling.

Request: As specific a list as possible of the expenses you seek reimbursement for under the privileges of your proposed exemption.

I n Example 1 above, landing/takeoff fees, parking/transient fees, aircraft fuel, aircraft oil, any other aircraft consumables or spe cial supplies required by the trip, crew out of pocket expenses reimbursable by the ACSO or ACSAS such as meal expense while travelling.

In Example 2 above, in addition to the expenses listed in Example 1, reimbursed expenses may include ground transportat ion , lodging at the destination

, and depending upon weather or security requiremen ts overnight transient hangar fee

.
The above expense examples are illustrative of the type of direct expense s associated with a flight and that are proposed to be reimbursed . However, the listed expenses are not an exhaust i ve list of all direct expenses that might be associated with a flight

.
Request: Information about ACSAS's federal tax status, if any.

The IRS determined that the Alameda County Sheriff’s Air Squadron is e xempt from Federal Income Tax under Section 501 (c) 4 of the Internal Revenue Code. The effective date of the exemption was May 15, 2010. Our Employer Identification Number is 94

- 6107783.

The Franchise Tax Board of the State of California determined by let ter dated October 15, 1956 that the Alameda County Air Squadron was exempt from State Franchise tax under the provisions of Section 23701 g of the Revenue and Taxation Code of the State of California. Our State ID is 0328341.

The Air Squadron is in the process of applying for a change in our Federal Tax status to Section 501(c) 3 of the Internal Revenue Code.