Drones in Blue: Albuquerque police deploying autonomous tech to 911 calls

Yahoo

18-07-2025

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) — What if police could see what's happening at a potential crime scene before they even arrive? The Albuquerque Police Department says it can now do that.
A 'professional courtesy': How an officer crossed the line
'I challenge anybody to go research and find me a department that has as much or more technology than us,' Chief Harold Medina said. APD utilizes license plate readers, gunshot detection systems, helicopters, body cameras, bus dash cameras, speed cameras, and now autonomous drones.
Typically, a person operating a drone must be able to see the actual drone. That's a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requirement. But APD says it received a waiver from the federal agency, allowing the department to deploy drones as first responders. 'I think, as a whole, this has the potential to greatly increase our efficiency as a police department,' Medina added.
Embattled McKinley County DA asks for emergency funding to keep her office running
He explained that more than 50 drones will be housed in what APD is calling 'hives,' strategically located on the roofs of seven to nine buildings throughout Albuquerque. Trained operators at the Department's Real Time Crime Center (RTCC) will dispatch a drone from the closest hive to a potential crime scene.
APD isn't disclosing the exact locations of the hives. However, the department allowed KRQE Investigates to get a close-up look at how the program will work.
Fouad Cherair, the RTCC's Manager for Live Operations and a drone pilot, explained he can inspect the drone and assess flying conditions in under two minutes before takeoff. He can launch the drone with the click of a button, allowing it to fly autonomously, or take manual control using a mouse and keyboard. 'And while I'm doing this, I'm also maintaining visual of the airspace, along with ensuring that our GPS and connection signals look good,' he shared.
The drone is equipped with a camera, and APD says responding officers will be able to view the live feed on their phones or patrol car computers. Cherair added that the pilot will also relay what they observe to officers en route.
'We're trying to take away response times from patrol officers by implementing drones first,' Cherair explained. 'So getting to the scene quick, assessing it, looking for victims, and helping with the coordination of resources.'
Chief Medina added that the drone's quick deployment will also allow the department to determine whether an officer needs to respond. 'There is a suspicious car parked at the park. There's possibly a stolen car here. And we will now be able to launch our drone, saving officers for the time being to just verify that there is a car still there,' he explained.
Knowing the technology could sound to some like 'Big Brother,' KRQE Investigative Reporter Ann Pierret asked the Chief when the drones will be used. 'They're not just going to be freely patrolling, looking for stuff,' he said. 'It's going to be referenced a dispatched call for service that we're already going to anyway.'
And when it comes to gun crimes, Chief Medina said the drones will be linked with ShotSpotter, a gunshot detection system, prompting a deployment to where shots are fired within 90 seconds, even if no 911 call is made. 'A lot of times, you know that it's going to take more than a minute and a half for an incident to fully develop — shots to be fired or a shooting or a homicide to occur. People get back to their cars, start leaving,' he explained. 'So we're hoping that it's going to be able to enable us to take people more quickly into custody in some of these cases.'
The information the drone provides will also be key, Chief Medina said, to helping victims quicker. 'Officers may be staging blocks away, waiting for other resources to get there, and the offender is gone, and the victim could use medical services. And now our officers will be able to have the information,' the Chief explained.
Pierret asked whether Chief Medina expects the new drone program to help prevent officer-involved shootings. 'Oh, potentially yes,' he said. 'As opposed to officers going into the backyard and looking and finding the individual, surprisingly, and not having that chance to de-escalate and negotiate with the individual. It definitely has the potential to reduce our officer-involved shootings and uses of force.'
The footage recorded will be used as evidence, but APD said areas the drone passes over, such as homes and businesses, on the way to a potential scene will not be captured. The drones fly with the camera pointed straight ahead, so APD claimed it cannot encroach on someone's privacy below. 'We're going to be careful. We're going to be respectful,' Medina added. 'So I think that it is a win-win for our community, and I think our community deserves it.'
This new program does not replace APD's two helicopters. The Chief said those are still needed for longer-range pursuits. The department plans to continue using its other line-of-sight drones, too, because the Chief shared they have different capabilities.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Solve the daily Crossword