![]() ![]() However, Brookhaven has a plan to provide coverage to areas out of reach for the main DFR drones. The DFR drones cannot reach every area within the city and usually only one or the other is chosen to fly on a given day. Instead, a Motorola app is used to control the flights. Ayana points out that although those are Chinese-made drones, the department does not use the DJI software. The M300 is equipped with a Zenmuse H20T camera capable of thermal imaging and can be equipped with a 10,000-lumen gimballed spotlight and a loudspeaker. The Brookhaven DFR program flies two DJI Matrice 300 RTK drones. The DFR program then took to the air in April 2021. The Brookhaven DFR drones are flown from the private rooftops, so city lawyers needed time to work out agreements with those property owners. Where Chula Vista uses those Flying Lion pilots in command in conjunction with a teleoperator that is both a sworn officer and an FAA Part 107 drone pilot, Brookhaven decided to launch a DFR program solely using officers certified as pilots.Īyana continued doing the research during the summer of 2020 and then the idea went to the city council for approval. The Class B airport is the second busiest in Georgia and has averaged 230,000 takeoffs and landings annually for more than three decades.Ī Flying Lion representative visited Brookhaven and gave a presentation. At first when launching a drone program was considered it was thought it could not be done because of the proximity to Peachtree-Dekalb Airport (PDK). ![]() The NeedĪyana, who at the time was a patrol commander working nights, says back in the summer of 2020, Brookhaven was plagued with a rash of auto break ins.Īlthough the department could request helicopter support from the Georgia State Patrol or the Dekalb County Police Department, Brookhaven needed a solution that could provide a quicker response. Drone flight data is provided by Motorola Solutions' CAPE software. And if you went back and you looked at our social media pages and posts related to the drone program, you may see one or two people who are skeptics, but oftentimes they don't live in Brookhaven,” Ayana explains.Īlso, for transparency, after every flight Brookhaven provides a link on the departmental website to show a map of the flight path. While some communities might react with a “Big Brother is watching” outcry when departments start drone programs, that was not the case. ![]() Other than that, the camera is pointed forward as it flies and not aimed down viewing anything it passes over. Before launching the drone program, Brookhaven police entered into an agreement with the district attorney and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) that pledges no drone footage will be released of individuals who are not engaged in criminal activity.Īs soon as a DFR drone is launched, it is focused on trying to get a view of the incident scene as soon as possible. He says people need to know that police are not using the drones to fly over the local pool and spy on women sunbathing or to look in their backyard to see if they're growing marijuana, unless officers have a warrant. “We've established that we can police ourselves.” They support us, they know that we're fair, we’re just, the service is going to be good, and that we don't tolerate bad behavior,” says Ayana. “You can't do this without citizens’ support. Police in Brookhaven believe strong relationships with the community, building trust, and providing transparency are all prerequisites for a police department to even consider a DFR program. “The number one response was our innovation,” says Lt.
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