TAYLOR, Mich. (WXYZ) — The Taylor Police Department has become one of the first in Michigan to deploy autonomous rooftop drones, allowing officers to respond faster and more safely to emergency calls.
"This is the evolution of police work," said Chief John Blair of the Taylor Police Department.
Watch the video report below:
The new technology enables drones to arrive at scenes before officers, providing crucial information about what's happening on the ground.
"It's direct-line flight. They travel 45 mph," Blair said.
Watch drone demonstration video below:
Lt. Jeff Adamisin, who is in charge of all the technology for the department, explained how the system works.
"These will be autonomous, not totally autonomous. We'll be launching them with human control from inside our offices and dispatch center and basically drop a pin on a map, and that drone will then fly to that location," Adamisin said.
He says the drones' speed gives officers a significant advantage in emergency situations.
"Anywhere in the city, that drone is going to be able to get there within a minute, minute and a half," Adamisin said.
The department uses specialized software to check weather conditions and air traffic before deployment. After entering an address, the drone can launch within seconds to respond to various situations including a vehicle stopped on the road, a water main break or more serious incidents.
"Maybe potentially a homocide scene, someone's that's barricaded inside, holding someone hostage, a very large disturbance, large fight," Blair said.
Taylor police currently have two rooftop drones and one interior drone. The interior drone allows officers to see inside buildings, homes or schools while monitoring from the station. It features 3D imaging and two-way communication capabilities.
The department will be able to launch the drones later this month and the chief emphasized the technology is not used for surveillance.
"That is not the case, I can assure you. Not only with the restrictions with the battery time of about 40 minutes, but also we don't have time to do that. We don't have the interest, we don't have the time, incident-based only," Blair said.
He says these drones are both game-changing and life-saving for the department.
"We're very proud about the technology we're trying to utilize here. We're trying to work smarter, we don't have the personal that we've had through the years…this technology helps us out," Blair said.
—————
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
