AZ Mirror Reporter Jeremy Duda Doubles-Down on Surveillance Drone Deployments by Arizona Police Departments..there's more to the story

A company called FLIR Surveilance Inc , Forward-looking infrared (FLIR) cameras
CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND POLICING
What we know about police drones in Arizona and how they are used
LINK to the source: https://www.azmirror.com/2020/06/30 
Last Updated: July 1, 2020 9:16 am

"The Tempe Police Department recently released video from its DJI Phantom Pro 4 drone that it used to surveil protesters over the weekend, but the agency isn’t the only law enforcement in the state with the technology. 

A review of Federal Aviation Administration records shows that nine different agencies in Maricopa County, including some fire departments, have drones at their disposal. 

Only a few agencies have provided Arizona Mirror their guidelines on the use of drones, and public records requests for policy guidelines for most agencies are still outstanding. . ."

When Tempe Police was contacted by Vice News about the drone footage, the department said it did not know which type of drone was being flown. Tempe was likely flying the DJI Phantom Pro 4, which the Mirror found using the FAA’s aircraft registry search.  

Tempe Police policy dictates that its drone “will not be deployed solely because people are choosing to exercise their right to free speech or their right to gather” and that “strong consideration must be given to a sUAS (small unmanned aerial system) deployment under these circumstances as it may agitate an otherwise law-abiding assembly of people.”

 The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, which also has a drone program, was present at the protests, as well

The Mirror found FAA records for 17 drones owned by the “State of Arizona” bearing the address commonly used by DPS’s other aircraft. 

The majority of them are made by DJI, a popular brand of drone by both enthusiasts and law enforcement alike. 

DPS received the majority of their fleet in 2019 and consist mostly of the DJI Mavic 2 Pro.

A commercial for the higher end version of the Mavic 2 Pro, which DPS owns one of, includes members of the Mesa Fire Department. FAA records give no indication that Mesa Fire Department owns one of the higher end Mavic 2 Pro Enterprises. 

 

Apart from the drones in DPS’s fleet that are commonly used by law enforcement, the department also has some more interesting ones, among them the DJI Spark and the Aeryon Labs Inc Skyranger. 

The Aeryon Labs Inc Skyranger is noteworthy because it is capable of infrared technology. 

FLIR, the leading manufacturer of infrared camera technology, acquired Aeryon in 2019, but it is unknown exactly what type of camera system is onboard the Skyranger that DPS owns.  

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BLOGGER INSERTS:

 

1 FLIR Mobile Vehicle Surveillance System ...

youtube.com

 

2 Small Unmanned Aerial System Adversary Capabilities | RAND

www.rand.org › pubs › research_reports

www.rand.org › pubs › research_reports

Overall, the commercial sUAS market has been moving toward smaller, lighter, and more-difficult-to-detect systems. There have also been notable increases in ...

by B Wilson - ‎2020

 

3 VTOL UAVs | Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS) for ...

www.unmannedsystemstechnology.com › aeryon-labs-inc

www.unmannedsystemstechnology.com › aeryon-labs-inc

Aeryon Labs provide high-performance small Unmanned Aerial System (sUAS) for Military, Public Safety & Commercial applications. Vertical Take-off and

 

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One agency did inform the Mirror that one of its does have a FLIR camera. 

“The Scottsdale Police Department drone program began in 2015 with the purchase of a DJI Inspire 1 aircraft,” Sgt. A.J. George, with the department’s Technical Operations Unit, told the Mirror. “The intended purpose at the time was for tactical overwatch on search warrants, barricades or other high risk tactical operations.”

...“Peoria PD Policy mandates any use of sUAS (small unmanned aerial system) be in strict accordance with constitutional and privacy rights, as well as state and Federal FAA regulations,” Peoria Police spokesman Ofc. Brandon Sheffert said. “Any use of sUAS first requires supervisory approval.”

“When Peoria PD utilizes sUAS there is usually several marked police vehicles on scene,” Sheffert added. “Any video or images utilized as evidence are stored in accordance with Department policy.”