Editor’s note: This article is part of Police1’s Drone Week, which explores how agencies are integrating drones into daily operations, where the technology is headed and what leaders must consider as their programs grow — from communications and staffing to policy, transparency and community trust. Thanks to our Drone Week sponsor, Flock Safety.
One drone pulled a knife from a suspect’s hand. Another used its downdraft to expose a man hiding behind a curtain. A third carried a life jacket across floodwaters to a stranded driver.
Across the country, law enforcement agencies are using drones for far more than watching scenes from above. They are sending them into buildings and crawl spaces, deploying them ahead of patrol officers, tracking fleeing suspects and helping responders reach people in danger.
The missions are different, but the advantage is the same: Officers can see more, act sooner and avoid sending someone into a dangerous situation without knowing what awaits them.
Here is a look at how law enforcement agencies are putting drones to work.
Giving tactical teams a look inside
The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office said its drone team found a parolee-at-large hiding in the corner of a garage after he stopped responding to negotiators. Deputies had seen the man with a firearm earlier, and the drone’s camera showed him lying on the floor with one hand concealed and the other holding a knife.
Instead of sending deputies into the garage, a pilot attached a powerful magnet to the drone and used it to pull the knife from the man’s hand. Deputies then moved in and took him into custody.
The sheriff’s office described the operation as the first known use of a drone to disarm an armed suspect. That improvised attachment gave the tactical team another option before making entry.
Denver’s Drone Operations Unit provided aerial overwatch while Metro SWAT served a high-risk arrest and search warrant at a home. After several occupants came outside, the team sent a smaller drone into the house for an initial sweep.
Most of the home appeared clear, but the pilot used the drone’s downdraft to move a curtain. That revealed a man who had remained inside. Police said he surrendered after seeing the drone, allowing SWAT officers to secure the home.
In this case, the drone supplied real-time information and checked a concealed area before officers entered.
The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office in New Mexico deployed its drone unit during a SWAT response at an Albuquerque apartment complex. The sheriff’s office said a 24-year-old man wanted on multiple felony warrants had barricaded himself inside after earlier incidents involving gunfire, firearms and narcotics.
After attempts to call him out were unsuccessful, the drone gave the SWAT team another view of the apartment while deputies remained outside. The suspect later surrendered.
The drone maintained observation during the standoff without immediately sending deputies into the structure.
In Colorado, the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office used a drone to locate two wanted people hiding in the crawl space of a home. The agency said the aircraft allowed its tactical team to search the confined area rather than send an officer below the house or use chemical agents to force the pair out.
Both people were taken into custody without injury, according to the sheriff’s office. An indoor drone can enter a space that is difficult for officers to access and provide a live view before the team chooses its next move.
Drone as First Responder programs put eyes on calls early
A Memphis Police Department drone was already overhead as officers responded to a disturbance call. When a suspect tried to leave, the operator relayed live updates to responding officers, who located the person and made an arrest.
That early look is the central idea behind a Drone as First Responder program. The aircraft does not replace the ground response; it gives officers information about the scene and the people involved before they arrive.
Fairfield police officers and drone pilots in California responded after an automated license plate reader detected a vehicle linked to a burglary in another city. Officers briefly pursued the driver but ended the pursuit because of the person’s unsafe driving. The drone remained overhead.
Pilots found the vehicle behind a business and watched two people climb a fence into a home’s backyard. Because the location was near an elementary school, the school was placed on lockdown.
The drone feed guided officers to the backyard and helped them contain the area before the two suspects were arrested with assistance from K-9 Drako. The drone allowed the agency to discontinue a vehicle pursuit without immediately losing the suspects’ location.
A Flock Safety license plate reader alerted Palm Springs police in California to a stolen vehicle from the Los Angeles area. Ground officers located the car first, while the department’s Drone as First Responder aircraft, known as Halo, moved overhead. Live intersection cameras supplied additional views.
Officers detained the driver without incident. The post is less about one device than the flow of information: license plate readers detected the vehicle, cameras helped track it and the drone gave officers an aerial view as they coordinated the stop.
Palm Springs said those systems will eventually be brought together in its planned real time intelligence center.
Crash scene documentation
The Colorado State Patrol is using drones to document crash scenes, giving investigators an aerial view of evidence, vehicle positions and the surrounding roadway.
CSP said drones increased the amount, quality and accuracy of the information collected compared with its previous documentation methods. Gathering that information from above also saves investigators time and helps agencies reopen roads and lanes sooner.
Supporting rescues and disaster response
When a Minneapolis man named Bob did not return from a neighborhood walk, his wife reported him missing. The Minneapolis Police Department deployed a drone equipped with thermal imaging and found him in the cold water of Shingle Creek.
Officer Drew Clark located Bob from the air, allowing police and fire to reach him just nine minutes after deployment. In a search where hypothermia was an immediate concern, the thermal camera covered the area quickly and gave rescuers a precise location.
A King County sheriff’s deputy used a drone to deliver a life jacket to a man stranded on the roof of his vehicle during flooding along Washington’s Snoqualmie River.
The drone carried the life jacket over the fast-moving water and dropped it within the man’s reach. A helicopter crew from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island later lifted him to safety.
The sheriff’s office said it was the first time one of its drone pilots had delivered lifesaving equipment.
The San Angelo Police Department in Texas released six minutes of drone video showing the response to severe flooding that struck the Texas city on July 4, 2025.
The video captures water rescues, submerged vehicles and widespread flooding across neighborhoods. From above, the department documented both the work of first responders and the extent of the damage across areas that could not be seen from a single location on the ground.
After the 2026 Aspen Acres Fire in Colorado, the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office and Northern Rockies Team 6 used drones to record damage in Colorado’s Beulah and Rye areas.
The sheriff’s office released the video as residents waited for information about their homes and neighborhoods. The aerial views showed damaged properties and the condition of areas affected by the fire while recovery and reentry efforts continued.
In this case, drones helped the agency document a large disaster area and share information with people who could not yet see the damage themselves.
Tracking unsafe e-bike and off-road riding
The Murrieta Police Department in California is using high-resolution drone cameras and live video to monitor complaints about illegal e-bikes and dangerous riding.
From above, operators can identify reckless riding, motorized bikes on sidewalks and speeding in bike lanes, then direct officers to the location.
The aerial view also allows the department to document violations and cover areas that would take ground officers longer to monitor. The approach gives officers evidence and a suspect’s direction of travel without encouraging a close pursuit through sidewalks, parks or bike lanes.
Officers in Scotland used drones during a targeted operation in parks and other areas where off-road motorcycles and e-scooters had been ridden illegally.
Police Scotland’s Air Support Unit monitored the locations from above, gathering high-definition video that officers could use to identify riders and find where vehicles were being stored.
Police said the Aug. 4 operation resulted in one adult and four youths being cautioned and charged with road traffic offenses. Officers seized one electric motorcycle and three e-scooters, and three other youths received warnings.
The drone allowed the operation to continue into areas that patrol cars could not easily reach.
Clearing calls
Oklahoma City police received a priority call about what appeared to be a vehicle submerged in a lake. Rather than commit several patrol units before confirming the report, the department’s real time information center sent a drone to take a closer look.
The camera revealed a stray Port-a-Potty floating in the water.
Police cleared the call within minutes, leaving officers available for other priority calls. It was a lighter moment than the tactical entries and missing person search, but the operational benefit was just as clear: a drone answered the first question before patrol resources were tied up.
Key takeaways:
- Drones can do more than observe. Sacramento County used one to remove a knife from a suspect’s hand, while King County used one to deliver a life jacket.
- The first look can change the response. Indoor drones, thermal cameras and DFR programs give officers information before they enter a structure or arrive at a call.
- Aerial documentation can save time. Colorado State Patrol uses drones to map crash scenes and reopen roads sooner.
- Drones remain useful after the immediate emergency. San Angelo and Pueblo County used aerial footage to document flood and wildfire damage across large areas.
- Routine call-clearing matters, too. Oklahoma City avoided tying up patrol units after a drone determined that a reported submerged vehicle was a floating Port-a-Potty.
