Until now, the technology was only available to an Anchorage police unit that responded to high-risk calls. Now officials say they can be used to find missing people, victims of animal attacks or help with warrant arrests.
Anchorage Police operate a drone during a standoff with a barricaded suspect on March 18, 2022. One officer was wounded in an exchange of gunfire. Anchorage police say they are expanding the department’s use of drones to include a team of certified patrol officers.
Law-enforcement officials say the small, unmanned aircraft help them investigate crimes, find missing people and respond more safely to risky situations like SWAT standoffs.this week that 11 officers — drone pilots as certificated by the Federal Aviation Administration — are now equipped with drones for use on patrol. They join members of the department’s Tactical Support Unit already outfitted with the devices, according to department spokesman Chris Barraza. The tactical unit uses drones for high-risk situations such as SWAT callouts, active shooters or barricaded subjects. Patrol officers will be able to use theirs to help find missing people, carry out warrant arrests or locate people involved in animal attacks, Barraza said. A drone was used last weekend by wildlife officials trying to find the site of aAnchorage police operate a drone during during a standoff with a barricaded man at the Hotel Captain Cook on April 15, 2022. near Mulcahy Stadium in mid-July. That incident involved what police at the time described as a suspect in a shots-fired incident and standoff. The department gave other examples of their use of the technology including warrant arrests, tracking suspects through dense forest, and monitoring movement during hostage situations. The department acquired two sets of drones to equip the patrol officers, Barraza said: Each set includes a $1,398 indoor drone and a $8,654 outdoor drone.Generally, the deployment of drones requires a search warrant in the collection of criminal wrongdoing or “in a manner that may intrude upon reasonable expectations of privacy,” according to the departmentgoverning use of the technology. APD “should notify the public” of drone usage except in situations where officer safety or an investigation could be jeopardized, the policy states. The policy was adapted in 2018 and last updated in 2022. It specifically references only the Tactical Support Unit. The department expects to update the policy to reflect the new usage by patrol officers, Barraza said.
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