Department Has Purchased A Total Of Eight Drones

The Colorado Springs Police Department has purchased eight drones and will train as many as 40 officers to fly them in hope of replacing two helicopters the department sold in 2010 during the economic downturn.

Television station KDRO reports that the CSPD has purchased DJI Maviks, Phantom 4s and an Inspire 2 drone that will be flown in the city's four patrol districts. One of the Phantoms will be equipped with an infrared camera for night operations.

Lt. Dan Lofgren was part of the helicopter tactical team, and now he is putting together a different kind of aviation division. He said 13 officers have already completed training and are ready to begin flying the department's drones right now. "If we can use this tool, this piece of equipment, to make the first contact on locating a suspect, versus sending officer in there and encountering a suspect that is waiting for them who could be armed and often times are armed, that we're searching for, that's tremendous," Lofgren told the station.

The department has invested about $30,000 in drone hardware so far. That number does not include the 10-15 hours training required for each officer to receive a Part 107 certification. Then, they have to learn to fly the drones.

The CSPD does not plan to use the drones for routine patrols, but will deploy them in specific situations. The department also says that it will be "sensitive" to citizen's privacy concerns.

(Image from file)

FMI: Source report