LAPD Gets a Spark

[RattVader]

This may have been posted already. Read yesterday on the Drudge Report that LAPD has purchased several drones...all DJI! Two Phantoms,a Matrice and of course 1 small but mighty Spark.

 

[leatherneck6017]

Auto correct got you good! Wonder what they plan on doing with them???

 

[Eljay]

Our local county sheriff office has a half dozen drones last I saw. They use them much the same way they use helicopters, but cheaper. Eye in the sky. Very handy when you are looking for a bad guy in some residential neighborhood and not sure which back yard they ran into or which fences they're hopping.

Here's an article about a time one was used successfully County sheriff quietly expands drone fleet to 6, flown dozens of times

 

[aviscomi]

I wonder why they got a Spark...close quarters I guess?

 

[Sparkbart]

I'm surprised AP drones haven't become part of the normal kit police departments have. Maybe not outfitted with every police officer or vehicle like the ARs they carry, but can be brought out when needed.

 

[Spark 317]

I assume all of the officers involved will have training to become Part 107 pilots since they are used for a "business"?

 

[RattVader]

The article stated that the “Sparks?” was going to be used for close quarters. The drones that will probably get the most usage would of course be the Phantoms. I believe DJI has more than one platform for the Matrice...though they didn’t state which one. Their was of course some negativity expressed about the police using drones for “police work”.

 

[Eljay]

When they first got them up here there was a lot of concerns about police surveillance and them peeking into bedrooms or whatever. People are weird.