DENVER – Drones are becoming more and more prevalent. They are being developed to deliver packages and medicines, inspect infrastructure, surveil areas after natural disasters, and police are now using them to get a better look at dangerous situations.
Many Front Range law enforcement agencies use drones to analyze car crashes, map out security for events and fly over areas during SWAT operations.
“As long as we can break a window and get the drone in, we have the ability to 1.) locate our suspect, 2.) isolate him to a particular area, and then 3.) start negotiating or communicating with him to deescalate the situation and ultimately get him to come out and surrender peacefully so nobody gets hurt,” said Jessie Wiggins of BRINC Drones.
BRINC Drones is a fairly new company as it’s been around for less than a year. No word yet on whether any Colorado agencies have purchased the LEMUR – a tiny drone equipped with a two-way communication system to allow negotiators to talk through the drone – but Denver7 is aware of its presence in other states.
Denver7’s Jason Gruenauer shows us how this new technology could change the way in which police respond to a crisis in the video above.