Police

Drone-as-first-responder programs, pursuit footage, evidence policy, and the departments putting UAS on patrol.

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Oct 22

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Kyle Nordfors in a red Weber County Search and Rescue shirt holds a DJI Matrice 30T overhead with one arm against a blue sky, propellers spinning, as a second man watches from behind

Police

DJI Curbs Hit Police Budgets: $10,500 Matrice vs. $21,000 US Rival

One Ocean County, NJ sheriff's drone kit costs $29,428. NPR priced a US-made rival at twice DJI's Matrice 400, and sheriffs want an FCC exemption.

Haye KestelooOct 13

Fourteen-story beige concrete hotel tower with vertical window strips and Holiday Inn signs, seen against a clear blue sky with a palm tree in front

Police

Laredo Police Vow to Take Down Drones at Hotel Fire. FAA Lists No TFR

Laredo's police chief says officers will mitigate drones over the DoubleTree fire. Federal law lets local police do that only with FBI certification.

Haye KestelooOct 7

Skydio X10 drone sitting inside an open Skydio Dock on a rooftop, city skyline at sunset behind it

Police

Bellingham Police Pick Skydio for DFR, 1 Response in 23 Logged Flights

Bellingham police fly Skydio DFR drones on a $475,417 state grant. The public log shows 23 flights since Aug. 19, one an incident response.

Haye KestelooOct 6

Gray Skydio X10 drone with a three-sensor camera gimbal hovering low over a green field with trees behind it

DFR

Lakeland's $22M Axon Deal Adds Drones, Taps Immigration Grant

Lakeland OKs a $21.98M, 10-year Axon deal with Drone as First Responder flights. An immigration grant is applied to its first two years. Money itemized.

Haye KestelooOct 5

Entrance canopy of the FBI campus at Redstone Arsenal with large blue lettering reading Federal Bureau of Investigation, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, above five guard booths

Counter-Drone

FBI Drone School to Double Capacity After 700 World Cup Seizures

DOJ's No. 3 says the FBI's Redstone Arsenal counter-drone school will more than double capacity. It is the only gate to new police drone takedown powers.

Haye KestelooOct 5

Flock Safety Alpha drone lifting off from its white rooftop dock inside a fenced enclosure, city skyline behind

Police

Warwick Police Flock Drone Waits On T.F. Green's Zero-Foot FAA Grids

Warwick, RI's $150,000 Flock Alpha police drone has a BVLOS waiver but no airport airspace approval. FAA facility map grids at T.F. Green read 0 feet.

Haye KestelooOct 5

A blue, white and gold VISA hot air balloon floats in a clear blue sky above a multi-lane road and roadside businesses in Albuquerque.

FAA

FBI's Balloon Fiesta No Drone Zone Runs On A Clock: 10.5 Hours A Day

FBI counter-drone teams are enforcing the Balloon Fiesta TFR, but the FAA's two NOTAMs run 5:30 a.m. to noon and 4 to 8 p.m. daily, not around the clock.

Haye KestelooOct 4

A Weber County Search and Rescue member in a red jacket with white crosses leans over a folding table beside a white van, fitting batteries into a DJI Matrice 30T drone sitting on a stack of black hard cases.

DSPA

DSPA Breaks Charter to Take DHS Blue UAS Report to Congress

DSPA's Vic Moss asks pilots to call Congress over DHS's Blue UAS test: name an agency to test every drone's security, stop banning by country of origin.

Haye KestelooSep 28

Police

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