The county police department plans to pilot a video drone program to help officers respond to 911 emergencies.
The Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD) held a presentation and Q&A with residents about the program Wednesday evening at the Silver Spring Civic Building.
Capt. Jason Cokinos explained that the police department has been using drones since 2020 in a very limited capacity, such as for finding missing kids. The new program would be an expansion.
According to police, the Drone as First Responder program uses a drone to fly to a call for service and arrive before or with first responders. It helps evaluate the scene before officers arrive and while a situation is ongoing, according to police.
The police department would use commercially-available drones that are also purchased by movie-making/photography companies — “it’s not a militaristic drone, it’s not something you see in Afghanistan,” Cokinos said.
The drones would only be launched in response to emergency 911 calls, and would not be used for surveillance or patrolling. The camera will be pointed upward until the drone gets to the designated emergency area. It does not use facial recognition and there is no audio recording.
Any video taken is stored in the same way as police body-worn camera and in-car video evidence.
The police department is looking to pilot in downtown Silver Spring and downtown Wheaton, based on volume of calls for police service, staffing issues in the area and the number of serious calls, Cokinos said.
The program would include a website where the public can see daily information regarding drone activity.
The county executive plans to send a supplemental appropriation to the county council for consideration, Cokinos said, and the pilot could get started as soon as mid-October.
