Nestled in the Ozark Mountains of Green Country Oklahoma, is the small city of Tahlequah. Voted as one of the 100 best small towns in America, Tahlequah is steeped in rich history, beautiful landscapes, and a strong sense of community support. The Tahlequah Police Department (TPD) plays a large role in fostering community relationships. Serving as Police Chief since 2013, Nate King has seen that TPD orchestrate several community programs that help provide a safe and happy living environment. One such program has recently provided TPD with the means to add drones to their arsenal.

For the last 2 years, Lt. Dexter Scott has organized the Back the Blue Fishing Tournament, an event that brings together the whole of Tahlequah for a day of fun while raising much needed funds for the police department. The entry fee, which goes towards supporting the police department, is $100 per boat. Donations from sponsors go to entertaining and feeding those out to watch the event, and as prizes to participants. “We had a little over 50 teams last year and raised close to the $6,000,” said Lt. Scott. “Our sponsorships have doubled since last year.”

With the money raised at the tournament, TPD purchased 2 new drones. Officer Cory Keele was the first to become certified to use the drones. He began using the drones mostly to assist in documenting traffic incidents. “Myself,” quipped Chief King, “I think it’s a better depiction than us hand-drawing a cartoon of a crash.” A drone can capture a detailed, comprehensive record of an accident within minutes. This means that a crash site can be quickly processed and cleaned up to prevent further crashes and return vehicles to normal traffic flow. The drone images are also very useful further down the line if a criminal investigation takes place.

In anticipation of expanding the drone program beyond traffic incidents, TPD obtained a Certificate of Waiver of Authorization from the FAA, allowing Officer Keele to train and license other officers to operate the drone. One of the drones is equipped with an infrared camera that is excellent for search and rescue missions and in cases where visibility is limited, such as the dense foliage of the Ozark Mountains. The drone also has a speaker on it that can play prerecorded messages or live audio, a feature Chief King points out is excellent in crowd control or negotiations with a possibly dangerous suspect. The other drone is a smaller one encased in a protective cage. “We can fly indoors, and if it bumps into a wall, you’re not going to damage the propellers, and it’ll still be flyable. “We can use that for building searches and anything that’s indoors,” said Chief King.

The TPD drone program cost the department a little over $10,000, none of which came from any taxpayer dollars. “We’re thankful to all the fishermen and its organizers from the Back the Blue Fishing Tournament for purchasing the drones,” Chief King said. The tournament brought the community and the police department together for a day of fun. But it did more than that. It fostered a strong connection between the community and those that serve it, providing the police with funds to perform to the best of their abilities.