Thousands of fans were backing up near the security gates at a Savannah Bananas baseball game. Where people normally moved steadily through, the crowd was growing deeper.
Drone operators could see the buildup. Ground personnel went to investigate and found that players had come out to sign autographs, stopping the flow of fans.
Commander John Yeast with the St. Charles County Police Department shared the example during his IACP 2026 session, “Drone Operations for Mass Gathering Events: A Four-Pillar Public Safety Framework.”
“It’s important to understand what’s normal behavior, what’s normal movement, versus not,” Yeast said.
Recognizing the difference comes partly from experience. It also comes from knowing what the event is supposed to look like before the gates open. That’s where the four pillars from the Law Enforcement Drone Association’s mass-gathering standard comes into play: pre-event scouting and threat assessment, situational awareness, incident response and counter-UAS operations.
The standard is a framework, not a replacement for agency policy, and Yeast said it can be scaled to a department’s size and funding.
Four pillars for drones at mass gatherings
Tap a pillar for the planning points Cmdr. John Yeast outlined at IACP 2026.
Pre-event scouting and threat assessment Decide what each drone is expected to do, then document the venue before crowds arrive.
Situational awareness Know what normal movement looks like so changes stand out.
Incident response Support an incident without leaving the original assignment uncovered.
Counter-UAS operations Prepare for unauthorized drones, whether or not your agency conducts mitigation.
1. Scout the venue and assess threats before crowds arrive
Yeast described a familiar request for drone teams: Get an aircraft in the air.
The assignment can take more explaining. A crew watching traffic outside a venue needs different direction than one checking rooftops. Pilots also need to know who wants their observations and how that information will reach them.
“What do we expect those UAS assets to do?” Yeast asked.
The venue helps determine the answer. “The venue in which the event is occurring is really where all your planning has to start,” he said.
A single stadium presents a different assignment than an event spread across several locations. A parade or marathon moves through the area, changing where coverage is needed as it goes.
At a St. Louis soccer venue being considered as a FIFA practice site, Yeast used aerial video to examine the route buses were expected to take. Annotations showed where road closures might affect the approach and where traffic could become a problem. The planning extended to possible command post locations and places where additional emergency resources could stage.
High-resolution maps can document the site before event crews install temporary infrastructure. Marking the planned security gates and other structures gives personnel a view of how the grounds will function when people arrive. Yeast recommended 3D maps where possible to help assess elevations and exposed areas. Nearby construction cranes deserve attention along with rooftops.
For a Division I football game, he described a defined flight path used to check rooftops about two hours before the event. Crews flew with standard video and thermal imaging, looking for anomalies they had already discussed how to handle.
The launch site also needs a closer look. Yeast has worked events where crews hauled equipment up several flights of stairs to reach a position on top of a stadium. Doing that once is different from carrying it up and down every day for a week.
He said he prefers launch and recovery areas away from foot traffic, particularly when several aircraft are operating from the same location. Access to power matters, as does somewhere for crews to shelter from the weather. Food and restroom access can be overlooked in the larger event plan.
Above the venue, drone crews may be sharing airspace with helicopters or aircraft from other agencies.
At the 2025 presidential inauguration, Yeast said every launch and aircraft change had to be reported to the FAA. Someone had to be responsible for making those notifications throughout the operation.
For other events, coordination may include assigning altitude blocks to drones working in the same area. Pilots need an agreed response if an aircraft enters their operating space. Emergency landing locations should be selected beforehand, since returning to the launch site may not be safe.
Temporary flight restrictions, or TFRs, require advance attention as well. Yeast highlighted the drone-only TFR option for eligible large public gatherings. FAA guidance requires requests at least 30 calendar days before the event, with eligibility dependent on the venue and expected attendance. Stadium TFRs for major sporting events are set well ahead of time, and an agency that isn’t part of the event can still have a mission inside one. Yeast said those agencies should know beforehand how to get authorization to fly.
Those arrangements belong in the operations plan so a crew arriving for its assignment knows where it will fly and how the operation is being managed.
2. Maintain situational awareness as conditions change
The crowd buildup at the Savannah Bananas game became apparent because operators could see people accumulating where they normally kept moving. Yeast said pilots need to understand the movement expected at an event. A growing line may be routine at one location and a reason to send personnel to investigate at another.
Yeast emphasized interoperability between participating agencies. Crews arriving from neighboring departments need to know how to communicate with the event team and who will manage their aircraft. An officer calling about a fight in “Lot F” needs the pilot to know where Lot F is. An operator reporting a problem at a gate needs to use the same name as the officers heading there. Otherwise, a location that seems obvious to someone on the ground may mean little to a pilot viewing the venue through a camera.
Yeast encouraged agencies to establish a common operating picture that shows command where aircraft are working. Shared maps can help personnel connect what operators are seeing to the areas they have been assigned to cover. Some agencies can stream video to command. Others need to rely on radio reports. Before deployment, crews should confirm which radio channel they will use and who will receive their reports.
Event organizers and fusion centers can help agencies prepare beforehand, but new intelligence may arrive while the event is underway. Yeast said the plan should establish how that information will reach drone crews and ground teams in time for them to act.
Coverage also needs to account for battery changes. If an event extends into the evening, the team should know which aircraft can support nighttime observation and when they will be needed.
3. Respond to incidents while managing coverage
At another event Yeast discussed, a crowd pushed through a checkpoint staffed by private security. A drone watching the area captured the breach. As security personnel tried to push people back, the aerial information helped officers reach the checkpoint to assist. A pilot assigned to watch a parking lot may hear from an officer who wants assistance checking a fight. Moving the aircraft could leave the parking lot unwatched.
“What happens to my original mission?” Yeast asked.
Command may decide the new call takes priority. Another aircraft may be available to take over the first assignment. Either way, pilots need to know who can approve the change.
“Set those rules of engagement early on,” he said.
For a large event, a dedicated drone coordinator can evaluate requests and serve as the link between drone crews and overall command. A smaller team may handle tasking differently, but its pilots still need to know whose direction to follow when assignments compete.
Those decisions depend partly on the equipment available. Yeast described a setup with one or two drones on overwatch and a third held for incident response, which doubles as the backup.
A team may have several drones, but only one suitable for certain weather conditions or equipped with thermal imaging for evening operations. Using that aircraft for a new assignment can affect the team’s ability to continue other operations.
Yeast said teams should make those limitations known during planning so command understands what resources it can draw on during the event.
4. Prepare for unauthorized drones
Explosive-laden drones would force people to flee. Snipers would wait for targets in the escaping crowd. That was the alleged plot investigators uncovered just four days before the UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House, according to federal authorities. Authorities disrupted the plan, and eight men were later indicted.
| RELATED: The White House drone plot is a warning law enforcement can’t ignore
Yeast brought the case to attendees, asking how many knew about the threat. Yeast said the group anticipated jamming and discussed using fiber-optic drones and placing aircraft on rooftops before the event. Messages cited in a federal criminal complaint describe those discussions.
Yeast emphasized preparing ground officers to recognize and report unauthorized drones, even if the department does not conduct mitigation.
That starts with knowing which public safety aircraft are operating at the event. Officers who spot an unfamiliar drone should be able to describe its location and approximate altitude so personnel can investigate. A small drone hovering at 30 or 40 feet, for example, is probably not one of the department’s aircraft.
To better prepare, he recommended the FBI’s online detection and warning training, a roughly 90-minute online course available to officers through the Law Enforcement Enterprise Portal, or LEEP. He also recommended that agencies review accreditation requirements and pointed to FBI template policies for detection and mitigation.
What happens after an unfamiliar drone shows up
The response sequence from Cmdr. John Yeast's IACP 2026 presentation. Select a step.
1. Know which drones belong, so the unfamiliar one stands out
Ground officers should know which public safety aircraft are working the event. If a drone doesn't match, a useful report gives its location and approximate altitude.
Yeast urged agencies to prepare officers to recognize and report unauthorized drones, even if the department does not conduct mitigation.
2. Officers build the case on the ground
Once a drone is flagged, officers locate people, verify facts and preserve evidence.
3. Tell command what you know and what you don't
Officers pass along their findings, what remains uncertain and the response options available.
4. Authorized personnel act. More authority isn't automatic authorization.
SAFER SKIES opened a new counter-UAS pathway for eligible state, local, Tribal and territorial agencies. Yeast noted that expanded authority does not mean automatic authorization.
He distinguished detection and warning from mitigation, which have different requirements. Agency readiness includes policy, accreditation, certified personnel, authorized systems and operations planning.
Source: Cmdr. John Yeast, IACP 2026 presentation.
The response continues on the ground. Officers locate people who may be involved and verify what happened. Their findings go to command, including what remains uncertain, so authorized personnel can determine how to respond.
Yeast distinguished that work from mitigation. Detecting an aircraft does not mean an agency is authorized to disable it, and the capabilities have different requirements.
Agencies also need a plan for a drone that crashes inside the venue, whether or not it belongs to the department. Batteries can be dangerous, so agencies should determine ahead of time whether a fire department will be on hand.
He also asked how the agency would handle the aircraft from an evidentiary standpoint. Those conversations need to happen with the responders beforehand, he said.
Yeast said agencies can apply the four pillars with the resources available to them. Smaller teams may need help from neighboring departments, with assignments and command responsibilities worked out before the event.
“All of this stuff is scalable for your operation and for your particular hometown,” he said.
The LEDA mass-gathering standard is available to LEDA and NTOA members for download here. Yeast said an updated version is expected in early 2027.
