GRAY POLICE DEPARTMENT
The Gray Police Department will soon have the capability of going to the skies to help look for a missing person or pursue a suspect with the addition of a drone that should be ready for duty by next month.
Chief Adam Lowe said the Matrice M30T drone was purchased from Airworx Unmanned Solutions of South Carolina following an onsite demonstration in Gray July 6. Lowe said the idea of the drone had been discussed since the first of the year. He said they researched options and spoke with agencies that are already using drones, including Milledgeville Police.
“We’re going to have five officers FAA certified to fly the drone, and our plan is to make it available to any surrounding agency that needs it,” the chief said.
Lowe said he was impressed with all the capabilities of the drone.
He said the focus and zooming abilities of the cameras are amazing. The drone has a five-mile radius and can stay in the air for 38 minutes before needing a battery change. He said the drone has four batteries, which gives it more than two hours of flying time.
The chief said he is grateful for the help of state agencies when they have needed air surveillance, but a drone can be on the scene in moments.
“We seem to have more people running from traffic stops, and this will help us find them quicker. This will also help us find juveniles that go missing,” he said.
Lowe said the drone can capture the GPS coordinates of the individual and send those coordinates to officers’ phones. He said drones can help with accident scenes, and software is available to create a to-scale drawing of both accident and crime scenes.
Lowe said the drone has night vision and infrared capabilities. He said it can fly in the rain and in winds up to 30 mph. The drone can fly up to 400 feet in the air and has a speaker that can be heard on the ground from that height.
The cost of the drone was $21,000, which is being funded from the GPD drug confiscation account.
Lowe said each drone is individually constructed, and delivery of the GPD drone is expected by the end of the month. The drone kit includes the batteries and a 24-inch monitor. He said training of the five officers will be within the next two months. That training includes two days of training onsite, followed by testing by the FAA at the airport.
The officers who will be trained to fly the drone are Capt. Eric Maynard, Lt. Jacob Hunnicutt, Lt. Mitch Lovick and officers Dylan Joiner and Josh Josey. The reason five officers are being certified is to have one on call 24/7.
New GPD vehicles
Other new additions to the police department are two new Tahoes that went on the road July 3. Lowe said the goal is to purchase two to three new patrol vehicles a year with the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax funds received. This year’s new vehicles went to officers Terius Farley and Daniel Pointer.
