HAGERSTOWN, Md. — A small city in Maryland is taking on illegal dirt bike riders in a brand new way.
Police in Hagerstown are deploying a surprisingly large fleet of low-cost drones and training more than 20% of the department’s officers on how to fly them. Police say the results so far are promising.
In the past two weeks, Hagerstown police report they have seized at least 15 illegally operated motorcycles and made multiple arrests. In one incident, police say they used a drone to track riders after one allegedly hit a police car as an officer tried to make an arrest.
Video released by police shows the riders roaring through the city, at times racing off road on pedestrian walkways. Apparently unaware they were being tracked, the riders went to a home and stashed the bikes. The drone was still hovering above as officers calmly drove up after the bikes were hidden to make arrests safely.
One man and a juvenile were arrested, and three motorcycles were seized, police said.
Hagerstown police bought a fleet of 15 drones in December and immediately began training officers to become FAA certified pilots. The goal is to have as many as 20 pilots out of the 91 officers on the force.
The numbers will enable police to have multiple cruisers equipped with drones on every shift, and deploy drones within minutes of a call, according to Police Chief Paul Kifer.
“It's just a safer way to work," Kifer said.
The chief noted officers normally are not authorized to chase illegal riders because of the risk to the public.
"Since we deployed these a couple of weeks ago, the level of illegal dirt bike riding has dramatically dropped off, and we're proud of that," Kifer said.
Sgt. Andrew Lewis was the pilot during one recent mission.
"We'll get a report of them and we'll send the drones up almost immediately," Lewis said. "Once we lock on, it's over for them. They're going to stop at some time and that's when we're there waiting for them. They know we're now using drones and we know there’s an impact because they're not out like they used to be. When they come out again, we'll be waiting and get back to business."
Kifer said there are safeguards to address concerns about privacy, surveillance and legal boundaries.
All drone video is recorded and saved as a public record by an independent contractor which ensures accountability for officers operating the systems, Kifer said.
Kifer compared it to police body cams. Axon, the same contractor that supplies body cams, stores and manages the drone video.
The department's drone officers are also being trained to fly into dangerous indoor environments to search for barricaded armed suspects. The drones reduce the need for officers to perform dangerous room to room searches, Kifer said.
At least one of the department's drones will be equipped with a loudspeaker to communicate with crowds during civil unrest, according to the chief.
The first two drones obtained by the department in 2020 have been used to search for suspects and missing victims.
In one case, Kifer said officers saved the life of a suicidal man after using a drone to find him on railroad tracks where the man intended to jump in front of a train.
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