The Burleigh County Sheriff’s Department in Bismarck, N.D. announced today that the agency has received a four-year waiver from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to operate drones or unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) over people.
A Louisiana woman shot several times at a small airplane, mistaking it for a drone. “He’s coming back to taunt us,” she can be heard saying in a video of the incident. The manned aircraft was spraying for mosquitos as it flew over her property. The police arrested the intoxicated woman and booked her into jail.
The use of drones by police departments in Washington State is increasing. The Washington State Patrol is now believed to have the largest drone fleet of any law enforcement agency in the country, with over 100 unmanned aircraft in service. In contrast, the next state over, Oregon, only has three drones at its disposal.
Drug gang used drones to spy on Spanish police. The gang allegedly used the drones to spot possible police presence before bringing in shipments of hashish. Police arrested the 12 suspected gang members in the town of La Linea de la Concepcion, Spain.
DJI recently launched the DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual drone, which offers many advanced features that are useful for any police force. However, the DJI Matrice 210 with both a Zenmuse XT2 thermal and Zenmuse Z30 zoom camera may be the ultimate police drone, if there ever was one. As part of the expanding Santa Rosa Police Drone Program, the department just added this exact setup to their arsenal as the ultimate police drone.
The Irving Police Department just launched their new drone program. 22 police officers in Irving, Texas will be fully trained Part 107 drone pilots. At least four officers will have a drone ready to fly, in their vehicles during their shift at all times. The drones will be used during searches for missing persons, suspects, to investigate crime scenes and more. The drone program was paid for in part by a city grand.
Less than two weeks ago we reported on the NYPD adding 14 drones to their police force.
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Law enforcement officials in California used a drone to catch a gun-wielding trespasser. After he had broken into the Point Sur Lighthouse, the man fled. He had been classed as a danger to the public and a drone was sent into the air to try and locate the trespasser. The Point Sur Lighthouse trespasser was successfully apprehended soon after. This is not the first time we have seen law enforcement officials using a drone to make an arrest.
Today the New York Police or NYPD announced that they will start using 14 DJI drones. The aircraft are to be used for reconstructing traffic crashes, crime scenes, securing large events and search-and-rescue operations. Some people fear however that ‘mission creep’ may set in and worry that the drones might be used to spy on law-abiding citizens. During a demonstration today, the NYPD denied the drones would be used for that purpose.
Late Friday afternoon a caller reported a disturbance in the neighborhood in around 4:40 p.m. Deputies were called out to the Spicewood neighborhood to investigate. The shooter was arrested by the Travis County Sheriff’s Office after repeatedly shooting his gun at a neighbor’s drone.
The unidentified flying object or UFO that was reported flying over New Jersey was actually a police drone according to law enforcement officials. The drone was used to track down two suspects who robbed a local Home Depot according to the Township of Union Police Department.
During the early morning hours on Saturday, a 16-year-old girl called the 999 Emergency Services to report that she had been raped and was somewhere in the Boston Lincolnshire (UK) area with her attacker. Even though the girl was not able to report her exact location she was quickly found after she had described a leveled factory site and the local authorities deployed a police drone with a thermal imaging camera.
According to a post from Rick G. on Facebook, his DJI Inspire 2 was shot out of the air by an angry neighbor in Ohio last night. The drone crashed down to earth from about 168 feet high. The aircraft, as you can see in the photo was heavily damaged as a result. The pilot has a pretty good idea who had shot down the drone. He went to the house and finally got his Inspire 2 back after the neighbor first denied shooting it down. The drone pilot then turned to Facebook for advice.
A suspected burglar was apprehended with the help of a police drone in Kelso, WA. On August 17, the Kelso police were informed about a man who had broken into a car storage area. The 45-year-old man tried to hide and evade being arrested but he was no match for the police drone.
Law enforcement officials in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania have been using a drone for the last three months, before announcing their new crime-fighting tool and say that it has taken public safety to a new level. Not only has the unmanned aircraft system (UAS) been used to fight crime, it has also helped in locating missing persons.
After a motor vehicle accident occurs, police investigators take measurements of the scene using chalk marks, tape measures, and roller wheels. Laser scanning tools have begun to replace older methods but even this can take a crew hours to complete causing massive delays in traffic. Some police departments like the one of Tazewell County, Illinois have begun using drones to get an aerial perspective of traffic incidents, greatly improving overall efficiency.
Two suspects were caught in a cornfield west of Willmar, Minnesota last Wednesday with the help of a drone and a K-9 after fleeing from a drug task force agent.
Chinese drone maker, DJI is making a big push into the commercial drone market this year. Yesterday afternoon the company announced a partnership with Axon to sell drones directly to police officers through Axon’s Air program. Axon is the company that was formerly known as Taser. The partnership with Axon will allow police forces around the country to easily order DJI drones such as the Phantom of Matrice through Axon’s connected data network and Evidence.com services.
A homeowner in Bradenton, Florida did not like that a drone was flying over his house. He told deputies that he was “in fear of his family’s privacy,” and thus tried to shoot the unmanned aerial device out of the air with his handgun.
Yesterday, the police in Orland Park, Illinois released video footage of their drone assisting officers to apprehend an armed fugitive. It was not the only time that the police used a drone to help them make an arrest.
Last winter an FBI hostage rescue team had set up an elevated observation post to monitor an unfolding situation in a large U.S. city. Right after they had set up they heard the sound of small aerial vehicles flying around them. Joe Mazel, head of agency’s operational technology law unit told attendees of the AUVSI Xponential conference that the small drones made a series of high-speed low pass at the agents in the observation post to flush them.” The criminal gang was successful in their attempt and Mazel continues to say that “We were then blind. Without the situational awareness, “it definitely presented some challenges.”
Drones are not only getting more popular among the public, they are increasingly being used by the police as well. Today we learn that the police Department of Lodi, California acquired a DJI Phantom 4 to add to their arsenal of police equipment. Last month, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved the department to fly the drone as a government agency. Three officers so far are licensed as drone pilots.
In the wake of the Las Vegas massacre last year, the police are increasing security at this year’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival with the help of drones. This year the festival enjoys a larger footprint and is expected to receive 125,000 visitors daily. Drones will provide extra sets of eyes in the sky and will also be able to reach any area of the festival much faster than officials on the ground. In line with the FAA rules, the drones will not be flown over the crowds.
The use of drones is becoming more prevalent among police forces and SWAT teams around the world as well as here in the US. Today, we learn that in tracking down the suspected Austin bomber, authorities used drones to fly over the suspect’s house in Pflugerville, TX. Even though it is not known at this point what kind of drones were used and for what purpose, it seems likely that drones outfitted with infrared cameras may have been used to scan for any people inside the building.
A police drone outfitted with an infrared camera, helps locate the unconscious victim of a car crash freezing to death with hypothermia in a six-feet deep ditch in the middle of the night. The drone was sent into action after the victim was seen walking away from a car accident on the A16 near Ludborough south of Grimsby, Lincolnshire, where a car had flipped onto its side. Within minutes of the DJI Inspire drone taking off, the man was located.
