South Dakota law enforcement adds drones to its toolkit

South Dakota law enforcement adds drones to its toolkit according to an announcement of the Pennington County Search and Rescue and the Sheriff's Office and the Rapid City Police.

South Dakota law enforcement adds drones to its toolkit

Drone pilots from each department will use the newly acquired unmanned aircraft to help locate missing people, as well as investigate fires and traffic accidents. The drones will help to provide an aerial view of the scene or location that they are investigating.

Lt. Dustin Morrison, Pennington County Sheriff's Office, said “We use the drones for a lot of things but this also helps us in any crime scene we have provide us with an aerial birds eye view of the overall scene to see anything we have missed from the ground and give us that different perspective to take a closer look at.”

The drones will not be used for every vehicle accident or crash, reports NewsCenter1, but they will be sent up in the air for the more severe crashes and accidents. Unmanned aircraft can provide a big help in accident reconstructions.

“We have accident investigators that come to the scene they map out the entire crash and using measurements and formulas and then we take pictures overhead pictures from about 400 feet up that maps the entire intersection or area where this crash occurred and then they are able to go back and use that math to put into skid marks and what not,” said Spenser Braun, Drone Pilot.

Drones can assist officers by providing a different vantage point that is unattainable from the ground. The video shows DJI drones from the Matrice series being used in Rapid City, South Dakota

Stay in touch!

If you'd like to stay up to date with all the latest drone News, scoops, rumors, and reviews, then follow us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram or…

Subscribe to our Daily Drone News email.*

Submit tips If you have information or tips that you would like to share with us, feel free to submit them here. Support DroneXL.co: You can support DroneXL.co by using these links when you make your next drone purchase: Adorama, Amazon, B&H, BestBuy, eBay, DJI, Parrot, and Yuneec. We make a small commission when you do so at no additional expense to you. Thank you for helping DroneXL grow! FTC: DroneXL.co uses affiliate links that generate income.

* We do not sell, share, rent out or spam your email, ever. Our email goes out on weekdays around 5:30 p.m.