Thomas Tracy
New York Daily News
BROOKLYN, NY — An NYPD drone was utilized to track — and then help arrest — a 49-year-old Brooklyn man armed with what appeared to be a loaded pistol during a daytime standoff in downtown Brooklyn, officials said.
After trying to communicate with the man for more than four hours, the Court St. resident surrendered and was taken to a hospital, cops said. The gun he had turned out to be fake.
Police responded to a ninth-floor apartment near Atlantic Ave. about 9:30 a.m. after receiving a call about a despondent man with a gun.
When they arrived, the apartment door was unlocked, but a security chain was in place. The door could only be opened a few inches, but cops saw a man sitting on a couch with a gun,” said NYPD Deputy Chief Robert Lukach.
NYPD Emergency Service Unit cops were called in to talk to the man, while officers from the department’s Technical Assistance Response Unit used an untethered drone to watch from a window.
Lukach said the drone was able to look inside the apartment and watch the man.
The remote-controlled drone was also used in the man’s surrender, officials said.
“We were able to ask the individual to take the gun and bring it over to the window, which he did,” said TARU Deputy Inspector Frank DiGiacomo. “Utilizing the drone, we were able to see that, yes, in fact he put the gun down, so were confident that when he came to the door he was unarmed.”
Police took the man to a local hospital for evaluation. His name was not immediately disclosed. Charges were pending.
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