Drones will soon be first on the scene of Olathe emergencies — carrying AEDs, spotting heat signatures in a fire, or providing a bird’s eye view of a crime scene.
The Olathe City Council on Aug. 5 voted 5-0 to approve a three-year contract with BRINC Drones for the Olathe Police Department to start its own “Drones as First Responder” program. Mayor John Bacon and Councilmember Robyn Essex were absent.
Olathe joins Lenexa and Prairie Village as communities with DFR programs.
“They’ll only be dispatched when there’s a call type that we’ve programmed that we want them to respond to,” said Olathe Police Chief Mike Butaud. “So, a robbery in progress, a traffic accident, structure fire, things of that nature.”
Funding for the three drones, which will cost $240,000 annually for a total of $720,000, comes from the department’s capital projects reserve fund, Butaud said.
The three drones will be stored in garages, called nests, on top of city-owned buildings across Olathe.
While the locations have not been selected, the goal is to purchase the drones, strategically place them across the city to provide maximum coverage, and then begin deploying them for emergency response, all within about six months. Butaud said one location he’s considering is the Olathe Police Department headquarters, 501 E. Highway 56.
“These aren’t autonomous drones,” said Councilmember Matthew Schoonover. “These are drones that somebody within the police department will actually control and access at all times, they’re the ones who will send them out and control them while they’re in air, right?”
“Correct,” Butaud said, adding that the drones are not armed.
Currently, 10 officers are trained drone pilots, though Butaud said he wants to expand the program. The department has other drones it operates out of officers’ vehicle trunks, but those are manned and operated on scene, and they’re unable to carry things like AEDs and other medical equipment.
“Our captains, that are the shift commanders, are also going to be responsible for that (the drones), as well as our community service officers,” Butaud said. “We have a whole group of folks that will be responsible for maintaining control of the drones at all times.”
Read about Prairie Village’s drones program: Prairie Village considers purchasing 911 ‘first responder’ drone
