The Anchorage Police Department is expanding its use of drones.
Police Chief Sean Case said the department’s special operations team has been using drones for the past couple years, but now general patrol officers will use them, too.
“Generally, we'll have two officers throughout Anchorage, seven days a week, that will have drones that can be used inside and outside, in their lead vehicles,” Case said.
The use of drones was critical in arresting a shooting suspect near the Mulcahy Baseball Stadium earlier this month, Case said. He said the suspect was hiding in the woods, a situation that would have been more hazardous for officers to address in the past.
“Officers would have had to charge into the woods and try to figure out how to stop that threat immediately, which could have led to, you know, a worse outcome,” Case said. “Whereas using that drone, we can now put that drone up, locate the person and realize that we don't have to charge in there.”
Case said the addition of drones is part of a series of new technology initiatives the department is rolling out to try to reduce violent interactions with the public.
“We've brought one less lethal munition online,” Case said. “And here, in the next couple months, we'll be bringing another product online as well. So I really think the technology is going to continue to have a positive impact on reducing violence when officers respond.”
The focus on nonlethal equipment comes at a time when Anchorage has seen a recent string of police shootings. In the past year, eight people have been shot by Anchorage officers, with five dying as a result.
