Sheriff’s Office Adds Two Drones to Department’s Toolkit

By LYDIA BERGLAR
News Editor

The addition of two drones to the Dade County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) brings tools such as thermal imaging and tracking to the department.

Sergeant Chad Payne (public information officer) explained that the larger drone (which is approximately three or four feet wide with propellers extended) is used outdoors, while the smaller one (roughly half a foot wide) can enter buildings to do reconnaissance.

Payne said, “A lot of agencies around us have them. DeKalb County, Ala. actually approached us because they were able to get theirs through a grant.” However, there are currently no grants in Ga. for drones, so the DCSO used forfeiture funds to purchase both drones.

Payne noted that drones have become a common and very helpful tool in law enforcement. “DeKalb uses theirs very frequently. Walker has got some now. Hamilton County has lots of them. They came down and helped us set up ours, and we’ll be training with them every week.”

Payne will be the primary operator, and another officer will eventually be trained and licensed to fly the drones. Payne went through ground pilot school and was licensed through the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The department then had to register the drones before being able to fly them starting in mid-December.

Payne called the drones “smarter than we are. The big ones are kind of foolproof. Just about anyone can fly them because they’re so automated. It’s covered in cameras and sensors that keep it from crashing.”

The large drone has lights, a speaker, tracking capabilities, and thermal imaging. Without the lights on, the drone is in “stealth mode,” but it also has bright lights that can be used for rescue situations.

Payne said, “We get a lot of calls at Cloudland Canyon for lost people, especially at night. They get out in the woods, and they get lost. We hope with this tool, we’ll be able to easily find them and through the speaker, we can tell them to follow the drone out.”

Payne said that the drone’s primary purpose is to locate people, whether they are lost or suspects. The controller has a small screen, but the drone’s case also has a large screen/touchpad. Officers can touch a person or vehicle on the screen and the drone will track it. The department tested it on both an officer and a vehicle, simulating chase/fleeing suspect scenarios.

Payne said that with the thermal imaging, “If it was nighttime and a suspect fled from us, or under a canopy of trees, it would be really easy to locate him.”

The drone’s secondary purpose is to help with surveillance of a warrant/arrest situation. If officers are executing a search warrant or making an arrest, the drone can fly above the location to watch all exits and escape routes. Payne said, “If somebody decides to run, you touch the screen and it will track them.”

The battery life is about 40 minutes, but with a hot swap battery system, officers can quickly swap in the second battery.

With a range of two miles, the drone automatically returns when it reaches the end range. It also keeps track of how much battery life it needs to return. The maximum height that the drone is supposed to fly is 400 feet above the launch point (whether that be a rooftop or a mountain), but it has the ability to go two miles high. Both drones are insured and have a two-year factory warranty.

The small drone is a recon drone and has all the same features as the large drone except for thermal imaging. While it can be used outdoors, its main function is to enter homes/buildings to scope out the situation.

Payne said, “Say we have a barricaded subject. We can launch that drone into the house, and we can see what’s going on inside without having to send an officer in.”

Guards on the drone protect it if it bumps into something, and “turtle mode” allows it to flip itself upright if it hits something and lands upside down.

This drone is controlled like a virtual reality headset. The operator wears goggles and uses a small joystick (not unlike a computer game piece). Payne said, “Everywhere you look, the camera looks.”

Payne emphasized that the department is especially glad to have the drones as another way to keep officers safe. The drones can scope out dangerous situations before potentially placing officers in harm’s way.

Of past incidents where drones would have been helpful, Payne said, “In the last month, I know of at least three occasions during my shifts that we could have used it,” noting pursuits where suspects have fled on foot. Captain Matt Cole added, “Very rarely a month goes by that we don’t have a missing person.”

Payne noted a recent call about a potential suicide jump from a mountain bluff during which the drone’s thermal imaging could have quickly located the person. Instead, the officers navigated the terrain on foot and found that no one had jumped.

Also recently, the DCSO received a call about a man with a firearm wandering around a resident’s property and potentially planning to break in. Payne said, “It was pitch dark. All of us officers were in the woods looking for him. We had flashlights, and he’s supposedly wearing camo.”

In these situations, Payne explained, “We can’t see the suspects, but they can obviously see us, and they could shoot us and kill us.” The drones provide an extra layer of protection for the officers while also acting as eyes and ears.

Although criminals and fleeing suspects will likely not be concerned with the legality of attacking a drone, it is important for citizens to know that because drones are classified as aircraft, it is illegal to take them down. Destruction of aircraft is a federal crime. Even recreational drones must be registered with the FAA and are protected.

When asked if suspects might try to shoot the drones, Payne said, “It’s not that easy to hit them, especially if they’re way up in the air. They could probably pepper it with a 12-gauge shotgun, but it’ll still fly.”

Also, the DCSO drones are government property and therefore protected under the Georgia Code “Interference with Government Property” section (O.C.G.A. 16-7-24).

Through the Federal Aviation Act, the government owns the airspace. Payne explained, “Above my house, I don’t own the airspace. Somebody is able to fly over my house, but there are privacy issues we have to be aware of. While we can fly over the property, we can’t invade their privacy or look in their windows with the drone.”

Searching property with a drone would require a search warrant, just like a search on foot.

Payne noted that the department is working on additional policies about drones. He said, “We respect people’s constitutional rights, and we will not be invading people’s privacy without the necessary search warrants and legal cause.”