Eagle chopper helps armed police arrest man with knife

The Eagle helicopter helped track two people in Christchurch yesterday before armed police swooped in and arrested a man with a knife.

Police were called to Briggs Rd in Shirley about 5.15pm on Wednesday after receiving reports of a man walking along the road with a knife. 

"The knife was secured by officers from the Armed Response Team," said a police spokeswoman.

"The person with the knife was arrested (and) a second person was not taken into custody."

It comes after a survey found there is resounding support for the Eagle helicopter in the city.

The online survey, conducted by Christchurch Central MP Duncan Webb, was completed by more than 1400 people.

It found that 53 per cent thought it was reassuring and 21 per cent were glad it was here.However, 12 per cent of respondents thought the helicopter was really distressing and a further 12 per cent viewed it as irritating.

Police are currently coming to the end of a five-week trial of the helicopter which will finish tomorrow. Police will then review the trial and consider making the Eagle a permanent fixture across Canterbury.

The survey also found 91 per cent of respondents thought the police should be able to decide how to best use resources for effective policing, although not without limits.

Fifty-two per cent thought the helicopter was “an essential part of policing strategy” and a further 24 per cent thought it should stay and they “trusted police to make decisions about how to deploy resources.”

In contrast, 11 per cent thought it should “absolutely” not stay because it was invasive and disruptive, and a further eight per cent believed it should not stay as it was unnecessary.

Statistics from the city council show 65 complaints have been made to the city council’s noise control unit about the helicopter since its trial began on February 17, which is significantly less than the 1186 made about loud music and parties within the same time period.