Drone as First Responder

[Etbrown4]

There were posts on this a year ago, but here's more from Washington Post todsy.

In dozens of U.S. cities, the next time you call 911, a drone might show up before an officer does.
The technology behind that — “Drone as First Responder,” or DFR — has skyrocketed in popularity among police departments nationwide since the Federal Aviation Administration streamlined the process for agencies to adopt the program this spring. While it could previously take up to a year to get approval, it now often takes just days.

Law enforcement and drone industry leaders praise the technology as lifesaving, with the potential to help authorities in situations ranging from missing persons cases to active shooter incidents. But critics worry the programs encourage mass surveillance and violate the public’s privacy.

DFRs serve as an “eye in the sky,” police say, streaming footage to officers before they enter a potentially dangerous situation. One of the hardest aspects of policing is that in calls for service, “we don’t have crystal balls, we don’t know what we’re going into,” said Roxana Kennedy, chief of the police department in Chula Vista, California.

 

[mavic3usa]

M

Washington Post article - "Police nationwide are embracing a new first responder: Drones" 8/4/2025

Aug 4, 2025

"Law enforcement agencies tout the technology as lifesaving for both officers and community members, while critics raise surveillance and privacy concerns."

Appears to be DJI hardware in the photos.

https://wapo.st/45xOG69

• MS Coast
• Replies: 5
• Forum: General Discussions

• 

 

[GadgetGuy]

M

Washington Post article - "Police nationwide are embracing a new first responder: Drones" 8/4/2025

Aug 4, 2025

"Law enforcement agencies tout the technology as lifesaving for both officers and community members, while critics raise surveillance and privacy concerns."

Appears to be DJI hardware in the photos.

https://wapo.st/45xOG69

• MS Coast
• Replies: 5
• Forum: General Discussions

• 

However, the only DFR drone manufacturer mentioned in the article is Skydio.

"Skydio, a DFR manufacturer, works with agencies to help develop policies surrounding drone use, “and more importantly, how they do not intend on using drones,” said Noreen Charlton, the senior manager of public safety marketing at the firm."

You are right, though:

"The Chula Vista Police Department primarily uses drones manufactured by DJI, specifically the Matrice 210 V2 and Matrice M-300 models. They were also among the first to utilize Skydio 2 drones. The department's Drone as First Responder (DFR) program utilizes these drones to respond to various emergency situation"

They started with Skydio 2 back in 2019, and then realized DJI was the big dog! LOL!

 

[jaja6009]

DFR is now extremely easy for even the most budget challenged department.
The FAA has streamlined the process to obtain a COA (Certificate of Authorization) with COWs (Certificate of waivers) in one easy package.
The FAA even will do this under Part 107, as most agencies that qualify to fly as a public aircraft choose to fly under Part 91.

The newest version allows for BVLOS with no distance limit, flights over people and moving vehicles (without being a Category drone, or even having a PRS (Parachute Recovery System) in some cases and flights in controlled air space without filing a LAANC and with the ability to operate above Facility Map grid heights with an additional Air Space Authorization.

We just got out Part 91 COW/COA and are in the process of training all of our members since there is a lot of new items that they have to learn to operate legally and safely.

 

[hank970]

I was a first responder for most of my career, both as a grunt and as a manager. I'm sure that dispatching a drone and having an eye in the sky might provide some useful information, but a machine hovering nearby isn't going to remedy an emergency situation. That requires impassioned human beings with skills -- experienced police officers, EMTs, and/or firefighters putting themselves at risk and getting their hands dirty. If you were a department head allocating scarce resources, would you take a person out of the response rotation and direct them to pilot a drone for a few critical minutes (until its battery runs down), or would you want to train that individual to be a real, on-the-ground first responder with knowledge, skills, ability and the endurance necessary to handle the immediate task at hand?

We all like drones. They're suited to a variety of commercial applications and recreational pursuits, and we enjoy flying them. But they're no substitute for real people when a situation calls for a response from real people.

 

[Bad Santa]

I can see drones being beneficial, also, in distracting suspects in high risk situations.

Hard to have a conversation when you're batting at mosquitoes.

 

[jaja6009]

I was a first responder for most of my career, both as a grunt and as a manager. I'm sure that dispatching a drone and having an eye in the sky might provide some useful information, but a machine hovering nearby isn't going to remedy an emergency situation. That requires impassioned human beings with skills -- experienced police officers, EMTs, and/or firefighters putting themselves at risk and getting their hands dirty. If you were a department head allocating scare resources, would you take a person out of the response rotation and direct them to pilot a drone for a few critical minutes (until its battery runs down), or would you want to train that individual to be a real, on-the-ground first responder with knowledge, skills, ability and the endurance necessary to handle the immediate task at hand?

We all like drones. They're suited to a variety of commercial applications and recreational pursuits, and we enjoy flying them. But they're no substitute for real people when a situation calls for a response from real people.

DFR is a challenge to get up and running and you hit the nail on the head about finding people to be able to fly the drone. Our drone program faces challenges in having a pilot available at all times. We don't take any person from suppression to fly the drone. We have members of Training or Administration fly and will also have PD send a pilot.
The drone is not a solution per se, it's a tool and must be used correctly.

We just had a huge fire, full department recall, surround and drown due to the risk of a "being renovated" building having a literal trash pile in an inner courtyard fully burning to further the problem the inner courtyard had a roof over the first floor area that also was filled with trash. The streams could not always get through the roof to get the other burning debris. The drone was the only way to know if the master streams were actually hitting the fire through the dense smoke. The redirected streams adjusted by the drone are what finally got the fire to die down and then allowed us to keep adjusting them and the Incident Commander would tell us to hurry up and get the drone back up during battery changes.

The more advanced departments with large budgets have multiple drones with docks. Through COAs and COWs they can have a member of dispatch control the drone from indoors. They send the drone and can control it or have a pilot on scene take control. By having multiple drones, they can keep one on scene by having another drone take over for battery change or recharge from the dock. The key here being having multiple drones and the advanced operations allowed by having a radar system or AI controlled cameras to look for and avoid manned aviation.

After the fire an FPV drone was sent into the possibly compromised building along with engineers to assess the safety of the structure. This also helped with now having 4K video of the interior for the investigation that followed. This worked so well, that I was asked about the possibility of installing a thermal sensor on a FPV drone. I have built a couple of drones and may try to put a 320 thermal on an FPV frame, but this FPV will have a traditional PX4 autopilot.

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[hank970]

I can see drones being beneficial, also, in distracting suspects in high risk situations.

Hard to have a conversation when you're batting at mosquitoes.

Yeah, batting at mosquitoes.

My jealous husband dragged me into trailer and is holding me and our baby hostage. He's barricaded the doors and closed all the blinds. Before grabbing me, he also shoved and punched a neighbor man with whom I had been exchanging pleasantries. The neighbor must have called 911, because the sirens I hear in the distance are getting closer. If the cops deploy a drone, my husband won't be aware of it, and even if he were, he wouldn't care. He can't see through the roof of our trailer or through its closed blinds, and neither can a drone.

I'd been finishing a piece of furniture in the garage this morning and went into the kitchen to grab a sandwich. Some oil-soaked paper towels I discarded in a bucket must have combusted spontaneously. By the time I discovered the fire, it had spread to a nearby wall and the ceiling. I hastily expended a 5-pound ABC extinguisher, but too little, too late. I ran back into the house and ensured that my family, pets, and a few valuables were evacuated and are safe. Then I called 911 and fled the house. Smoke inside is thick. Right now, I think I'd rather hear approaching sirens than the buzz of an approaching drone. Unless, of course, the drone is capable of fighting structural fires.

It's 10:30 at night and raining heavily. I suddenly encountered a rock fall on a curve and swerved in an attempt to avoid hitting it, but I struck a sizeable boulder, and my car spun into a ditch. An airbag deployed and broke my nose. There's blood everywhere. I think my left leg, trapped under the dash, is also broken. I'm sure glad that I subscribe to a service offered by the manufacturer of my car which automatically issues an alert in the event I have an accident, because I'm on a lightly traveled road fifteen miles from the nearest town. I hope the volunteer fire department there dispatches an ambulance. On such a stormy night, it would be foolish to launch a drone, and even if a drone were launched, I don't think a drone hovering over the scene of my mishap would be at all beneficial.

I'm having lunch with a former college roommate, and she began choking on something, perhaps on a piece of meat. Some of the restaurant's wait-staff and I have tried the Heimlich maneuver, but to no avail, maybe because she's a pretty large gal. I think she's getting enough air to stay alive, but she keeps lapsing out of consciousness, and when she's awake, she's frantic. I sure hope the local rescue squad had the presence of mind to send a drone.

And so on...

 

[Bad Santa]

Yeah, batting at mosquitoes.

My jealous husband dragged me into trailer and is holding me and our baby hostage. He's barricaded the doors and closed all the blinds. Before grabbing me, he also shoved and punched a neighbor man with whom I had been exchanging pleasantries. The neighbor must have called 911, because the sirens I hear in the distance are getting closer. If the cops deploy a drone, my husband won't be aware of it, and even if he were, he wouldn't care. He can't see through the roof of our trailer or through its closed blinds, and neither can a drone.

I'd been finishing a piece of furniture in the garage this morning and went into the kitchen to grab a sandwich. Some oil-soaked paper towels I discarded in a bucket must have combusted spontaneously. By the time I discovered the fire, it had spread to a nearby wall and the ceiling. I hastily expended a 5-pound ABC extinguisher, but too little, too late. I ran back into the house and ensured that my family, pets, and a few valuables were evacuated and are safe. Then I called 911 and fled the house. Smoke inside is thick. Right now, I think I'd rather hear approaching sirens than the buzz of an approaching drone. Unless, of course, the drone is capable of fighting structural fires.

It's 10:30 at night and raining heavily. I suddenly encountered a rock fall on a curve and swerved in an attempt to avoid hitting it, but I struck a sizeable boulder, and my car spun into a ditch. An airbag deployed and broke my nose. There's blood everywhere. I think my left leg, trapped under the dash, is also broken. I'm sure glad that I subscribe to a service offered by the manufacturer of my car which automatically issues an alert in the event I have an accident, because I'm on a lightly traveled road fifteen miles from the nearest town. I hope the volunteer fire department there dispatches an ambulance. On such a stormy night, it would be foolish to launch a drone, and even if a drone were launched, I don't think a drone hovering over the scene of my mishap would be at all beneficial.

I'm having lunch with a former college roommate, and she began choking on something, perhaps on a piece of meat. Some of the restaurant's wait-staff and I have tried the Heimlich maneuver, but to no avail, maybe because she's a pretty large gal. I think she's getting enough air to stay alive, but she keeps lapsing out of consciousness, and when she's awake, she's frantic. I sure hope the local rescue squad had the presence of mind to send a drone.

And so on...

You don't use a hammer for every task and you wouldn't use a drone for every encounter either.

Some people can't seem to grasp that.

Fire trucks have all kinds of utilities available and only use the ones that they need for that task. Police trunks also have all kinds of tools for the same reasons.

As for the pilots.

Do the people at the bomb squad have other duties? The drone pilots could be in the same class. They have things they do when not flying drones.

See? This is why we have management types (the good ones, anyhow) and not just fry cooks looking for an easier job. Good managers weigh many options and gather ideas and create plans. They are able to think outside the box, find solutions, implement procedures and make the important decisions.

 

[mavic3usa]

^Exactly why when these drones don't resoundingly serve the useful purpose they were "intended" they will be put to better use doing what they do best: spy on and track and harass the citizens. It all sounds good when you first think about it, first on the scene, relaying the critical information, etc. but eventually it becomes time to use these drone for something they are way more suitable for with their powerful camera. It's just a matter of time before they are "re-purposed" and if there are no laws in place to limit their use, nefarious minds get creative as the frustration builds when it comes to crimes.

 

[Bad Santa]

So the way I read that is that some people don't believe we should have good things because some people would use the good thing for bad purposes?

 

[mavic3usa]

So the way I read that is that some people don't believe we should have good things because some people would use the good thing for bad purposes?

I don't believe the government should have things unless they comes with rules that make sure they aren't abused because of the power the government has. These rules should be determined by the people. I believe in a limited government.

Almost the exactly oppose for a free people. We should have things almost unlimited regardless if a few people abuse them, comes with a few rules but these rules only make sure we don't hurt or kill other people.

Somewhere in there is a good healthy (adjustable) balance, as necessary.

 

[jaja6009]

You don't use a hammer for every task and you wouldn't use a drone for every encounter either.

Some people can't seem to grasp that.

Fire trucks have all kinds of utilities available and only use the ones that they need for that task. Police trunks also have all kinds of tools for the same reasons.

As for the pilots.

Do the people at the bomb squad have other duties? The drone pilots could be in the same class. They have things they do when not flying drones.

See? This is why we have management types (the good ones, anyhow) and not just fry cooks looking for an easier job. Good managers weigh many options and gather ideas and create plans. They are able to think outside the box, find solutions, implement procedures and make the important decisions.

This is how I approach our drone program.

It is a tool in the tool box.
Use it when it benefits, don't use it when it does not. Find other uses for it outside of the known uses but do not try to force it to do things it cannot.

Our pilots all have main jobs, no one is just a drone pilot. Usually when something happens, police can fly for fire and vice versa or sometimes we both are available.

When I train our pilots, this is stressed. Our drones at this time do not replace people, they supplement them.

 

[hank970]

I don't worry about drones being used to spy on law-abiding citizens. There are already more practical technologies in widespread use which can surveil our daily activities and comings and goings -- the CCTVs in businesses and on street corners, and your neighbors' doorbell cameras among them. Law enforcement often queries such resources. I recall reading, not long after the Cuban Missile Crisis, that the cameras on our U2 aircraft were able to resolve rank insignia on Cuban and Russian officers' shoulder boards.

I don't think of a drone as a tool in search of a use. Like anything else, they're good for some things and unsuited for others. Consider, for example, the suggestion in another thread that a drone could deter or incapacitate an active shooter in a school. Would the nature of control signals even enable a drone to fly down a corridor and around a corner or two or down a stairwell to assess a potential threat? I don't know. Maybe if the drone were wired, but there are more robust tracked robots that can do that and also move and manipulate things they encounter.

 

[jaja6009]

I don't worry about drones being used to spy on law-abiding citizens. There are already more practical technologies in widespread use which can surveil our daily activities and comings and goings -- the CCTVs in businesses and on street corners, and your neighbors' doorbell cameras among them. Law enforcement often queries such resources. I recall reading, not long after the Cuban Missile Crisis, that the cameras on our U2 aircraft were able to resolve rank insignia on Cuban and Russian officers' shoulder boards.

I don't think of a drone as a tool in search of a use. Like anything else, they're good for some things and unsuited for others. Consider, for example, the suggestion in another thread that a drone could deter or incapacitate an active shooter in a school. Would the nature of control signals even enable a drone to fly down a corridor and around a corner or two or down a stairwell to assess a potential threat? I don't know. Maybe if the drone were wired, but there are more robust tracked robots that can do that and also move and manipulate things they encounter.

The FPV drone flew throughout a large brick structure. During this we did not have any signal loss. I only posted snippets of non-sensitive information, but the drone flew the entire structure.
It helped having the windows and doors removed during renovation in terms of signal strength. The only problem encountered was large pools of water on the ground making the drone's downward positioning sensor have trouble at times. This caused some drifting, but was anticipated.

Our SWAT has an Avata 2 and will use it for various tasks including making entry before they have to. DJI's signal strength both TX/RX and VTX/VRX is so well tuned and gets better with each iteration of Occusyc you get great penetration into structures. They also have a terrestrial robot to enter and it has the ability to deploy less than lethal countermeasures, again, choose one tool or both. The terrestrial robot is left in the dust in terms of speed. Bust out a window and fly the drone right on in. I routinely fly my personal Avata 2 around my house at a rather quick pace since I have practiced so much with it.

 

[jaja6009]

As DFR becomes more the norm, safety issues are always going to popup. On our flights during the fire, a helicopter flew almost directly over the fire building (to the side by 50 feet) and low, less than 400 feet). I had to fill out a NASA Aviation Safety report for a near mid air collision.

Secondly, after reviewing our Remote ID receiver, a DJI Avata 2 flew over the fire building and most likely was shadowing our Matrice 300 RTK since the flight tracks at times intertwine. I did not notice it during the flight.

Everyone needs to be careful out there, the skies can get quite dangerous.

Flight track of Avata 2 (White) and Matrice 300 RTK (Yellow)