LIMA, Ohio (WLIO) — The Allen County Sheriff's Office has added new drone capabilities with the introduction of a mobile drone command center designed to improve emergency response and public safety operations.
Sheriff Matt Treglia and Drone Commander Deputy Aaron Baker unveiled the new drone van Thursday. The vehicle is equipped with two drones and includes space that can serve as a small staging area at emergency scenes when needed. The van was made possible through a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area grant from the FBI. Baker, a certified drone pilot, said the technology will provide deputies with valuable aerial views during a variety of incidents.
"We get a drone up, it's 200, 300 feet in the air, we can start looking down and we can start looking behind certain objects, up above objects. It's nighttime especially, we can have the thermal on so you can check for heat signatures. So maybe in a field and it's hard to see, through corn, you can start picking up the heat signatures."
The sheriff's office plans to begin using the drones during daily patrols at the Allen County Fair to familiarize the public with the new equipment while allowing deputies to gain operational experience. Sheriff Treglia said the drones will be used for a wide range of public safety situations, including searches for missing people.
"Things like missing children, elderly people with dementia that walk away and are missing. These drones can do all that. We'll be able to drive right on the scene and put these drones in flight and work with them."
Treglia said the department's goal is to have two deputies on every shift trained and certified as drone pilots so the technology is ready to be deployed whenever it is needed.
