3 days ago
La Vergne Police Department launches first-ever drone team
LA VERGNE, Tenn. (WKRN) — The La Vergne Police Department is forming a new drone team to help fight crime in their community.
The team currently has eight drones. Five bigger drones will be used for the public and three other drones will primarily be used for training purposes.
Detective Steven Crotts started building the groundwork for the team in 2022. As of publication, the team already has three members and they're looking to expand to a team of at least five. Crotts said the drone team is a start to reducing police response times for La Vergne residents.
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'Missing person, search and rescue, officer safety — as far as clearing buildings or clearing residences when it's needed,' Crotts said. '[It will be] deployed with K9s while we're looking for a suspect that's fled the scene and there's some type of a pursuit — anything like that.'
Crotts said he sees the department moving to a drone-as-first-responder approach. Crotts said that the approach involves drones stationed in the city, which would then launch from the area to respond to emergency calls.
Within the next five to 10 years, Crotts hopes to expand to a First Response Drone team to continue reducing response times and serving the community more effectively.
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