Sheriff: Drone use in disarming suspect is 'definitely the future'

Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper stated that drones represent "definitely the future" of law enforcement after his department successfully used a drone to disarm a suspect earlier this month. The sheriff's office reported that its special enforcement unit surrounded a residence where a known felon and parolee-at-large was hiding, having been seen with a firearm.

After the suspect failed to respond to negotiators, drone pilots located his hiding spot and determined he possessed a knife. In an innovative move, a drone pilot attached a powerful magnet to the aircraft and safely removed the knife from the suspect's grasp before deputies entered the garage. The sheriff's office claims this marks the first time in U.S. history that law enforcement used a drone to disarm an armed suspect.

Cooper told NewsNation’s “The Hill” that drones are used regularly for entering residences during emergencies and that they are "cheap" and "save lives." He noted that the suspect appeared unconscious and may have overdosed. The idea to use a magnet on the drone reportedly came from a patrolman.

According to the Bard College Center for the Study of the Drone, over 1,500 state and local agencies had drones as of March 2020, with acquisition costs exceeding $8.4 million for 283 agencies. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has expressed concerns about law enforcement drone use, particularly regarding privacy invasions through technologies like facial recognition and surveillance capabilities. The ACLU recommends safeguards such as requiring warrants for drone deployment.

However, Cooper argued that drones save lives and improve response times, stating the recent incident was a "win-win" by preventing the need to take a life.