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A barricaded suspect, possibly armed awaits inside his home. There may be a booby trap, or there may be hostages. After a shot is fired, the decision to send someone inside – or should we say, a drone – is made. Law enforcement is getting some interesting technology to help in tactical situations where our only options previously were to wait out the suspect in a siege or to send in officers.
On this episode of Policing Matters, host Jim Dudley speaks with Blake Resnick, the CEO and founder of drone technology company BRINC, and returning guest, Don Redmond, retired Chula Vista (California) Police Department Captain and BRINC Vice President of Advanced Public Safety Projects, about the recent release of the BRINC LEMUR 2 drone and how sUAS systems are assisting law enforcement tactical response.
Top quotes from this episode
“I ended up cold-calling the SWAT team who surprisingly agreed to meet with me when I was 17.”
“Now drones act as signal repeaters, so you can send in one a third of the way through the building and that will act as a network coverage expander so you can send in another drone in even further.”
“The LEMUR drone is incredibly useful in tactical situations but also incredibly useful in other situations. For example, it was deployed in the Surfside condominium collapse.”
“We’ve heard the national message that law enforcement needs to reimagine police response. The community expects us to de-escalate with time and distance. And we have the technology to do that to keep first responders safe and to keep he community safe.”
Additional resources on this topic
- BRINC Announces Release of its Next Generation LEMUR 2 Drone
- BRINC’s next-gen throw phone achieves public safety through technology
- Flying and thrown de-escalation tools reimagine police response
- Q&A: The advantages of an indoor tactical drone
- How to maximize the capabilities of SWAT drones
About our guests
Blake Resnick is the CEO/founder of BRINC. He started taking college courses at the age of 14, and then attended Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering. Before launching his sUAS start-up, he worked at McLaren Automotive, Tesla Motors and DJI Inc. He is also a member of the Thiel Fellowship’s class of 2020. Blake has the innate ability to define a problem, imagine a new approach and create a technology-based solution. His engineering skills include mechanical design, firmware development, electrical design, testing, high voltage systems, vacuum systems, composite design, additive manufacturing and CNC machining.
BRINC designs, manufactures and sells sUAS systems to public safety departments worldwide. Blake’s willingness to form collaborative partnerships with end customers (including deploying on dozens of SWAT callouts) gave birth to BRINC’s first product, the LEMUR. Using lidar technology, the drone flies indoors and its two-way communication system allows first responders to hear and see through the drone. Blake is currently working on an sUAS mesh system designed to respond to gunshot detections and 911 calls within seconds. When not enveloped in product development, he actively engages in recruiting, strategy development, internal communication and fundraising. He recently negotiated and closed a $2.2 million Seed round and a $25 million Series A funding round in 2021.
Retired Chula Vista Police Captain Don Redmond has over 25 years of law enforcement experience and now works for BRINC Drones as the Vice President of Advanced Public Safety Projects. In this role, Don is focused on building future capabilities to help public safety save lives and effectively integrate UAS into communities around the world.
As a police captain, Don oversaw Support Operations consisting of the Emergency Police Communications Center, Technology, the City Jail and UAS Operations. He managed the Chula Vista Police Department’s groundbreaking UAS program including the Drone as First Responder (DFR) and is active in the UAS community. Don holds a Master of Arts Degree in Administrative Leadership from the University of Oklahoma and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Education from San Diego State University. He is a graduate of California P.O.S.T. Command College (Class 64) and the FBI National Academy (Class 263). He is a published author in Police1 and FBINAA Magazine and was a contributing writer for the California P.O.S.T. De-Escalation Strategies and Techniques publication.
Connect with Blake Resnick
Connect with Don Redmond
About our sponsor
This episode of the Policing Matters Podcast is brought to you by Lexipol, the experts in policy, training, wellness support and grants assistance for first responders and government leaders. To learn more, visit lexipol.com.
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