Sgt. Brian Moss of the Mountlake Terrace Police Department remembers the incident that led the department to realize that drones (also known as an unmanned aircraft system or vehicle) can help police deescalate potentially violent situations and save officers’ and civilians’ lives.

It was August 2021. Mountlake Terrace police received a call from a woman who reported that her husband was intoxicated and threatening to shoot himself inside their home. Officers spent a few hours talking with him by phone but he refused to leave the house to get mental health attention. Out of concern for the wife’s safety, the police suggested she sleep elsewhere for the night. A few hours later she called back, worried that she hadn’t heard from him.

Law enforcement agencies often share resources, and in this situation the police contacted a drone operator from a local SWAT (special weapons and tactical) team to assist with contacting the suicidal man. The wife supplied a house key so the drone pilot was able to get the door open and fly in. “Unfortunately, it was a sad ending – the resident was deceased. But it could have been an even worse outcome if officers went in there, tried to force the guy to get help or take him to the hospital and then he ended up shooting one of my officers or the wife,” Moss said. “That’s what kicked off our department saying, ‘Hey, this is a good tool.’” 

Moss, who has been in law enforcement for 16 years, said, “When I first started a long time ago, we would almost kick down a door to get somebody help because we didn’t want anybody to die or commit suicide. But the problem is that sometimes suicidal equals homicidal in those cases.”

(Editor’s note: In the U.S., the national suicide and crisis lifeline is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988 lifeline.org.)

In recent years, policing in many places, including Washington state, has shifted toward a more measured, deescalation approach. “The philosophy now is, ‘Why am I going to put two or three of my officers into a room with a guy that is threatening to either harm himself or harm others?,’” Moss said. “We’ll talk on the phone with you all day and negotiate with you and try to get you some help voluntarily. But as long as innocent bystanders aren’t there, we’re just not going to force the issue.”

Within a few months of this drone-aided call, Mountlake Terrace Police Chief Pete Caw purchased the department’s first drones, using funds from its general budget, and Moss was named the drone program manager. Today, the department has five officers who are trained drone pilots and 10 drones, including two with thermal imaging capabilities that allow the drone to see at night by sensing heat. 

Police drones 101

To become a certified remote pilot by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), officers take an intensive 40-hour training course and then must pass a rigorous exam at an FAA-approved testing center. They are also required to keep their knowledge up-to-date by retaking the test every 24 months.

Mountlake Terrace’s Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) policy prohibits police from conducting random patrols with drones. “I think when we first started the program, people thought we’d be spying on them and that’s certainly not the case,” said Moss. “We literally do not care what people are doing in their backyards or anything like that. We only use it for in-progress calls, such as a lost child or when we’re actively searching for a suspect.” And in an effort to protect people’s privacy, pilots point the drone’s camera toward the horizon rather than over houses, streets or sidewalks when they’re flying to and from an incident.

The department uses Airdata UAV software to track the logistics of each flight, including the case number, pilot’s name, take-off time and location, flight path and duration, battery and equipment status, altitudes flown and more. 

Drone-assisted cases

Drones can help decrease threats to law enforcement when they’re responding to a call. For example, Mountlake Terrace patrol officers came across what appeared to be a dumped car in 2023. They ran the plate and it came back as a stolen vehicle.

Prior to incorporating drones into their work, the officers would have had to carefully approach the car to determine who or what might be inside, at potential risk to their own safety. “It’s a very serious thing…is there a guy inside with a shotgun? Is there a dead body?” Moss said.

But in this case, from a block away, the drone pilot was able to get a 360-degree view of the stolen car and see through an open window. No one was inside so the officers were able to safely recover the car and return it to its owner. 

A skilled pilot can fly a drone through a building’s interior, deftly going room to room, to ensure that there are no threats to law enforcement who must enter. In February 2023, Mountlake Terrace police assisted a SWAT team with serving a high-risk warrant to a Lynnwood property where narcotics and stolen goods were being trafficked. After the suspects surrendered, the SWAT team stayed back while the pilot deployed the drone inside to survey for any remaining threats: armed individuals, booby traps, explosives or aggressive dogs. Without this drone technology, four or five police officers would have had to enter the house to do the same task, but at extreme physical risk.

Drones assist firefighters by identifying hard-to-see hot spots on a roof, inside a building or outdoors. The vegetation at the recent fire on Edmount Island was so thick that it was difficult for firefighters to determine if they had completely extinguished the blaze. Sgt. Moss piloted a drone 200 feet above the island and thanks to its thermal imaging capability, he was able to see and communicate the remaining hot spots to firefighters on the ground.

Drones also help collect essential data and save time during traffic collision investigations. “Prior to drones, we would have to close off a road completely for a fatality for six or seven hours so we can document it and photograph it. We now have the ability to photograph an entire scene in less than 20 minutes,” Moss said.

Private citizens’ drone usage

The police occasionally receive complaints from residents concerned about private citizens flying drones over their homes. “The FAA, not the police, regulates airspace, ” Moss said. “There’s really not a lot we can do. We can refer them to the FAA. If I’m able to find the pilot, which is very, very difficult, I can certainly ask them to stop.” Mountlake Terrace doesn’t have a drone ordinance, but could create one to prohibit certain drone activities, Moss said. “Regulation of private drone usage is uncharted territory and I think it’s going to be a future thing that the FAA will have to address. It’s an ever-evolving technology.”

— By Clare McLean