Kansas City police are now using drones for certain investigations.
Sgt. Patrick Rauzi is one of a few select people who can run the department’s drone. He said they recently got approval for provisional accreditation and have used it in three investigations, but they’re being very careful about which ones.
"We wanted to make sure we had a policy that dealt with what situations we would use it in and what situations we would not use it in," he said.
Drone guidelines:
1. Critical instance
- Tornado recovery
- OP 100: Armed, barricaded subject
2. Crime scene documentation
- Take high resolution photos, document the scene
3. Traffic accident reconstruction
4. Lost or missing person
- Assist in finding someone with autism or dementia
Kansas City police recently used the drone in a standoff situation last week. A person inside was reportedly armed. The suspect eventually surrendered peacefully.
However, it’s an example of a situation where a drone can help and keep officers safe.
Rauzi said for an example, “Instead of flying our helicopter over with two human beings, over a building that may have a gun on the roof, we can fly this over.”
Investigators also used the drone after the man suspected of killing Kansas City, Kansas, Detective Brad Lancaster was taken into custody.
Still, Officer Daniel Watts reiterated, “It's a new technology and it has to be treated carefully to make sure we go down the right path with it.”
It’s a technology that fills a gap where helicopters and officers previously couldn’t go.
SkyTracker Pilot Captain Gregg Bourdon said, “[Police] only use [the drone] below 400 feet and for what we do in SkyTracker, we're always above 500 feet. So there's really not very many occasions when there's a conflict between commercial helicopters and drones. The drones are more of an advantage down low.”
And Rauzi said the drone won’t replace the department’s helicopter. It will be used in addition to it.
The department’s drone is capable of flying for 15 to 20 minutes. Helicopters can fly much farther distances and can stay in the air for much longer.
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Shannon Halligan can be reached at shannon.halligan@kshb.com.
