Drone as First Responder (DFR) Takes Flight at Hanford Police Department

Added: 2026-06-04

[00:00:00]So, here it goes.

[00:00:05]So, it'll We have it set to go up to 200 ft where that's primarily where we will operate at at that height.

[00:00:15]>> [music] [music] >> There's a call for service that comes in that I believe it'd be good for the drone to go do. Um, I click a button, it'll automatically launch the drone, and it'll fly over to that address. Um, once it gets to that address, then I can take control of it and, you know, circle the area, move the camera around, whatever needs to be done to get a the best uh advantage point with the drone and provide the information, or if somebody takes off walking or running, I can follow them with the drone. And then when the mission's over with, then I can click a button, and it'll automatically return home and come back and land at the police department. He's headed south on Dowdy Street on the west side of the road.

[00:01:10]>> [music] >> But, a lot of times some of these calls hold for 20 or 30 minutes, and by the time the officers get there, the person's already moved along, not there.

[00:01:30]And so, the drone can do that and save the officer from having to respond over there and leave them more available for higher priority calls. Or say we get a call of the railroad crossing arms are stuck down. Usually, we dispatch an officer over there to confirm that they're still down, to check on traffic, and dispatch the railroad. The The drone can respond over there, confirm that the arms are down, check on traffic if an officer's not needed, and then notify the railroad, and the officer stays available for higher priority calls.

[00:02:01]>> [music] >> We're not We're not here to look in people's [music] backyards and spy on people. We primarily from point A to PD to point B to call for service. We're flying with our our camera pretty much pointed out in front of us until until we need it for the call for service that we're going to and and from point B to point A back to the police department, we're pretty much doing the the same thing.

[00:02:43]>> [music]