– Photo courtesy of FPD
The Frankfort Police Department launched a training day on Tuesday, June 4 to instruct its newly-formed drone unit on how to operate the drones and utilize the equipment for further law enforcement operations.
Two drones for the unit were purchased after Frankfort Board of Public Works and Safety approval in February 2023 where Chief Scott Shoemaker requested the purchase of two small drones that may be utilized for police investigations as well as fire emergencies.
The initial purchase of the two drones was approved for $1,766 for each piece of equipment that would be utilized to scout homes where a suspect may be barricaded. Shoemaker commented after the initial approval regarding the decision to purchase smaller drones for the operations.
“Situations such as houses or buildings, we could fly a drone inside during police activity. Our drone that we have is about a $7,000 drone. We don’t want to fly that into a house where a suspect can grab it,” Shoemaker said. “If the drone is damaged, the company will provide us a new drone for just $500. We would use this in potentially barricaded subjects or hostage situations where we can break a window and then fly this drone in.”
After the initial approval of the purchase, Shoemaker explained that the department foresees the continued need for police activity to evolve with developments in technology that require departments to implement drones to address situations where a suspect may be barricaded.
“That’ll give us eyes and ears quickly on a situation for our SWAT Team,” Shoemaker said. “I think this is the future. I bet there’s one of these in every police car in the next five to ten years.”
The drones are utilized by the SWAT Team who review the footage from the drones on their cellphone while they fly through the buildings to ensure that the officers remain fully-aware of the situation they are facing.
The department has reportedly been utilizing the drones for numerous activities that have exposed the need for additional drones to be implemented to ensure the best response is provided to the community during a multitude of situations.
“The increased need to locate missing persons, conduct crash scene reconstruction, photograph crime scenes, chase criminals and assist the fire department at fire scenes has requires us to increase the number of trained officers in the drone unit,” Shoemaker released.
The department recently received a donation from Center Township of Clinton County to aid in the purchase of three additional drones, bringing the fleet to five drones for the department. Adorama provided the training on Tuesday with Special Operations Captain Brady Sorrells overseeing the implementation of the drone program.