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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Atlanta police ID officers killed in chopper crash

Norman Gomlak Associated Press

ATLANTA (AP) — The two Atlanta police officers killed in a weekend helicopter crash are being remembered as public servants who died honorably as they searched for a missing 9-year-old boy.

Atlanta Police spokesman Carlos Campos identified the two officers Sunday as 48-year-old Richard J. Halford of Lithia Springs, who had been with the department for 26 years, and 40-year-old Shawn A. Smiley of Lithonia, who joined the department two years ago.

Campos said in a statement that Halford had been with the department’s air unit for more than 16 years, serving as a pilot.

Officials say the helicopter crashed about 10:30 p.m. Saturday in a busy Atlanta neighborhood. No one was injured on the ground.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation. The missing boy was later found safe.