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Drones used by Douglas law enforcement shown to help officers with public safety operations
MINDEN — In May 2018 Douglas County Sheriff’s Office received a report of an armed individual who was near Painted Rock in the Johnson Lane area at around 9:30 p.m.
Due to the rural nature of the environment, a drone was deployed to assist law enforcement in locating the individual. The drone was able to locate the subject and keep the person under observation while a crisis negotiator spoke to the person.
The situation was able to be resolved by the person leaving the weapons behind, coming out and was transported to a mental health facility to obtain needed assistance. A peaceful disposition without harm to those involved is law enforcement’s goal to these types of incidents.
Drone use is becoming more popular in law enforcement, firefighting, border patrol, in military operations, search and rescue, and disaster relief. There are currently 347 various government agencies using drones, an increase of 518 percent in drone use in the last 24 months.
Officials say that the use of unmanned aircraft systems keeps officers out of harm’s way and covers more ground quickly. They can go to a place where peace officers cannot. The place may be too high to climb, or too dangerous to be.
Each governmental agency that utilizes drones uses them in different ways. In Douglas County, they are used for specific missions.
“We use the drones to help people, for public safety, not for criminal surveillance. The mission would be to locate a missing child or an armed suspect,” said Sheriff Ron Pierini.
A drone is another method to capture information and utilize it for public safety.
DCSO has purchased two drones with the generous assistance of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Advisory Council.