Last June, the Metropolitan Law Enforcement Council’s SWAT team went into the South Shore Plaza in Braintree looking for suspects after a shooting, but they didn’t go in blind. They were led by a Franklin Police Department drone.
“It’s a great tactical tool,” said Franklin Police Lt. Jim West, a department drone operator. “The drone was able to go ahead and make sure there was no one waiting for them when they went around a corner.”
Franklin is just one of several local police departments that have added drones to their toolboxes.
The uses of the drones are many, local police chiefs said, from tactical uses - such as the incident at the mall described by West - to social media, community policing and everything in between.
“It’s going to have unlimited uses,” said acting Milford Police Chief James Falvey, whose department just recently got a drone. “Whatever we can use it for to help people in the community, we will use it.”
What it takes to have a police drone
Other area departments that have drones include Millis, Sudbury and Westborough.
For police, adding a drone to the department's arsenal isn’t a simple process of just buying it and then flying it. All operators need to get Certification of Operations from the Federal Aviation Administration, Westborough Police Sgt. Cliff Luce said.
Continue reading: https://www.metrowestdailynews.com/story/news/2021/08/16/police-use-tactical-tool-drones-help-dangerous-situations/8095565002/
“It’s a great tactical tool,” said Franklin Police Lt. Jim West, a department drone operator. “The drone was able to go ahead and make sure there was no one waiting for them when they went around a corner.”
Franklin is just one of several local police departments that have added drones to their toolboxes.
The uses of the drones are many, local police chiefs said, from tactical uses - such as the incident at the mall described by West - to social media, community policing and everything in between.
“It’s going to have unlimited uses,” said acting Milford Police Chief James Falvey, whose department just recently got a drone. “Whatever we can use it for to help people in the community, we will use it.”
What it takes to have a police drone
Other area departments that have drones include Millis, Sudbury and Westborough.
For police, adding a drone to the department's arsenal isn’t a simple process of just buying it and then flying it. All operators need to get Certification of Operations from the Federal Aviation Administration, Westborough Police Sgt. Cliff Luce said.
Continue reading: https://www.metrowestdailynews.com/story/news/2021/08/16/police-use-tactical-tool-drones-help-dangerous-situations/8095565002/
