Montgomery County Police launches Drone as First Responder Program

Gabby Allen
·1 min read

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) — The Montgomery County Department of Police (MCDP) announced Wednesday that it has officially begun the Drone as First Responder Program.

The program introduces an unmanned aircraft – which the department says is called Raven – to provide critical support to the department and residents of Montgomery County.

The program leverages Raven’s capabilities to reach the scene of a call for service, either before or as patrol officers arrive on the scene, enhancing emergency response capabilities.

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MCDP said Raven’s operation objectives include:

  • Assisting in the assessment of scenes and circumstances before officers arrive.

  • Providing essential tactical information and situational awareness to enhance response safety.

  • Contributing to the de-escalation of situations and improvement of overall response times.

  • Addressing staffing shortages and assisting public safety efforts.

Recently, the department said Raven played a vital role in the apprehension of a 31-year-old repeat shoplifter who was targeting a CVS Pharmacy in the 9500 block of Georgia Ave.

On Nov. 15, officers responded to a shoplifting call at the CVS at around 12:30 p.m. The suspect managed to leave the store before officers got there, but Raven was deployed and observed him getting on a Metro bus.

The drone tracked the bus’s route, giving officers the location.

Officers were eventually able to stop the bus at 12:50 p.m., taking the suspect into custody.

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