Brooklyn Park Police Drone Program Takes to the Skies
The Brooklyn Park Police Department’s drone program will soon be taking to the skies.
Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley unveiled the policy for the program at the May 22 Brooklyn Park City Council meeting.
Previously, the Brooklyn Park Police Department looked to neighboring police departments for drone support.
“Sometimes we have a hard time finding a drone,” Bruley said. “I’d rather rely on our own resources.”
Through the program, eight Brooklyn Park police officers will become trained drone pilots.
“Search and rescue of vulnerable and/or missing adults and children will probably be the primary [use],” Bruley said. “The frequency of these continue to go up. These are individuals — many times from group homes — or other individuals that are vulnerable who end up walking away and are missing and enter wooded areas, the river, areas like that.”
Drones equipped with infrared cameras can help officers locate missing people or suspects at night, Bruley said.
The Brooklyn Park Police Department is starting a drone program.
Police Drones and Search Warrants
Bruley said the drones will also be used to assist officers executing search warrants.
“Very rarely should we have to go in on a search warrant to go look for somebody without first flying a drone in there to locate who’s in the house,” he said. “Once you fly a drone and are able to see who’s in that home, we can de-escalate and take time to negotiate and not have a type of conflict with individuals.”
State law allows for a limited number of incidents where police can use a drone without a search warrant.
“I will tell you I am of the ilk that a highly regulated government is the best government, to be honest with you,” Bruley said. “I don’t think that these should be used carelessly. There should be regulations. They do at some level, can invade privacy if not used appropriately and so I actually really support the regulation of these.”
Under Bruley, the department will no longer use K9s to apprehend suspects. Rather, K9s trained in suspect tracking will work in tandem with drone pilots to locate fleeing suspects.
Drones can also assist in emergency situations that pose risks to public safety, such as natural disasters, active shooters, hostage situations or terrorist attacks.
“You generally have the council’s support on this,” Mayor Hollies Winston said. “It’s a modern tool.”
See also: Robbinsdale Police Drone Program Moves Ahead
