Photo: Stafford County (Va.) Sheriff’s Office

Police used a drone to help when a woman in Florida pointed a gun at them asking them to shoot her. The woman, a 57 year old who resides in Cocoa Beach, caused a standoff with the police at a Wal-Mart where she pleaded with the officers to shoot.

Avoiding Violence through Technology

The woman is said to have gotten fed up with all the troubles in life and job and decided to provoke the police to shoot.  The police, however, decided to avoid a situation in which they would have to shoot and instead turned to drones to monitor the situation and determine the best way to respond. Police pilots flew two drones at a safe distance from the woman and used them to get a better view.

They were able to get an up-close view of her actions, from her waving her gun to her drinking vodka and swallowing pills in her car. The police could even tell when her finger was on the trigger and when it wasn’t and thus determined the best time to move in. In the end, the elite SWAT team ended up using pepper spray and an armored vehicle to approach the woman and disarm her. This is a rare ending to a situation that more often than not ends up with a deadly outcome.

New Uses for Drones Emerging Every Day

This is just one of the many emerging innovative ways drones are being used. The police departments are finding drones to be important e in fighting crime and serving the citizens. Drones have been used in hostage situations to assist the police rescue the hostages without any casualties, to monitor large gatherings and even search for missing people.

Stafford already has 122 officers certified by the FAA and 5 quadcopters. The drone program was put in place in 2016 using $50,000 that had been seized in drug raids. The drones are being used to help execute search warrants, monitor traffic and take crime scene photos. During the next few years we can certainly expect to see more police departments adopting drones.