NYPD says its drones have transformed crime-fighting and saving lives over last two years

NYPD drones sprung into action this summer in Queens after a group of four men broke into a home and held its occupants hostage.

Forty-seven-year-old Jone Smith, 39-year-old Brandon Dash, and 37-year-old Ryan Dash allegedly held up the Flushing residence with firearms and hammers, punching a 71-year-old woman in the face and striking a 43-year-old man in the foot with a hammer around 2:30 a.m. on Aug. 16. The crooks attempted to steal $21,000 in cash from the family.

But the drones — which the NYPD deployed because inclement weather made it impossible to use department helicopters — helped stop the three suspects as they attempted to escape, according to NYPD Deputy Commissioner Kaz Daughtry.

One drone was able to follow one of the suspects without him being aware the device was even giving chase. Thermal imaging technology enabled the drone to track the perpetrator in the dead of night precisely.

“They had the family in the living room area — had their hands above their heads. I was actually on the scene that early morning, and I remember them requesting aviation, but aviation was down due to the inclement weather,” Daughtry said during a Nov. 12 interview with amNewYork Metro. “They [the suspects] decided to jump out the back window. As they were jumping out the back window, two officers were able to make an apprehension right away. One guy was able to get away, but the drone followed him two or three blocks away from the initial location and found him hiding in a shed in somebody’s backyard.”

While the NYPD says it has had drones in its repertoire for some time, the department states it was able to jumpstart its use of the hardware about two years ago.

Daughtry recalled that he brought the idea to then-Police Commissioner Edward Caban following a visit to Chula Vista, CA. Daughtry told amNewYork Metro that he saw how the Golden State was using the remote-controlled craft and wanted to bring it to the Big Apple.

“There was one call in particular that we actually observed while we were down there. Drones responded and we were watching in real time a male with a gun. He took it and he put it to his mouth, and he lit it — it was a lighter,” Daughtry said. “If the cops didn’t have that information and they would get there, it could have just went wrong, but that drone and the pilot were able to relay that information.”

Since then, Daughtry says that NYPD drones have been deployed more than 4,000 times in responding 911 calls throughout the city. The uses range from identifying and stopping teens from subway surfing, monitoring protests, relaying data information on beaches regarding shark sightings and aiding swimmers in distress, responding to armed, barricaded suspects, and more.

The drones were also used in last weekend’s brush fire in Prospect Park to assess the extent of damage and aid in firefighting efforts.

However, despite what the department touts as numerous success stories, civil rights advocates have suggested the drones are an infringement of personal privacy.

Daughtry pushed back on this, pointing to the Flushing home invasion as a situation in which he believes drones were able to save lives.

“I say to the naysayers and the critics that let’s use the 109th Precinct in Flushing as an example. Go talk to that family that was just held up at gunpoint from a home invasion, and this technology was able to apprehend three individuals to bring some closure to that family. I say, go ask them,” Daughtry said.

Daughtry also revealed that the NYPD is also developing a dashboard in which New Yorkers can type in their address and find out if and why a drone was called to their location.

Two years into their use, Daughtry says the NYPD drone program has plenty of success stories. The department is constantly evaluating the program and examining other ways in which drones can be useful — from providing defibrillators to first responders rendering life-saving medical aid, to dropping off Narcan to assist someone suffering from a drug overdose.

“We’re hoping that we can maybe pilot that in some of the parks in the summertime next year,” Daughtry added.