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On Tuesday, Dec. 26 the Schenectady City Council authorized the city’s police department to enter a six-year contract with Seattle-based BRINC Drones for its “First Responder” drone program.
As part of the nearly $700,000 contract, the agency will receive a fleet of BRINC’s LEMUR 2 drones, which allow for live-streaming and two-way communications.
The devices are also equipped with a thermal sensor and a glass breaker.
A Schenectady Police spokesperson told WRGB the drones will initially be used for tactical situations like a barricaded suspect.
“Our special operations squad can use them to go indoors, they can break glass, they have two-way cellular communication, so we can speak with someone or we can carry a cellphone into a building if we needed to,” Detective Sergeant Bradley Carlton told the outlet.
The goal is for the drones to eventually be dispatched to non-emergency calls like noise complaints or non-injury car crashes.
“Then there would be different drones that would have the capability to actually go and fly as first responders to a call autonomously from a location that we will designate in the city,” Carlton told WRGB.
Proponents say the drones will help reduce police response times and maybe even handle some calls without the need of a live officer.
City officials expect the drones to take flight by the end of 2024.
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