Los Angeles Chapter meeting and tour on May 20, 2022
The Santa Monica Police Department has a long history of utilizing aircraft in support of its law enforcement operations. Starting in 1929 with a two-seater, radial engine Kari Keen Sioux Coupe 60, the department has endeavored to utilize the advantages of having an eye in the sky to support the officer on the ground. That pursuit continues today with the deployment of unmanned ariel systems and the operational philosophy of utilizing a Drone as First Responder (DFR). DFR is a transformational method of policing that has demonstrated the ability to increase officer and community safety by reducing overall police response times and providing information to potentially de-escalate emergency situations.
This operation utilizes a sUAS (drones) on the roof of the police station, ready to take off at moment’s notice with a sworn police officer controlling that sUAS with a remote teleoperation software suite that allows the use of large high-definition monitors and access to additional technologies. The sUAS has a powerful on-board camera that streams HD video back to the department’s real-time operations center where the teleoperator, who is a trained critical incident manager, to “virtually” arrive on scene first, sometimes minutes before officers arrive on scene, and provide responding public safety personnel with the critical information necessary to appropriately respond to emergent calls for service and emergency situations.
The Santa Monica Police Department implemented its DFR program in November of 2021 and immediately realized the benefits of this technology. The ability to get a UAS on scene rapidly, to any call, has drastically reduced response times, provides real time livestreaming for officers and supervisors and allows de-escalation by having an experienced officer preview and advise responding field units on the actual conditions they are responding to. The DFR concept has changed the nature of “first response”, from relying on second and third hand information to operating with a real time level of situational awareness unimaginable in 1929.
Please join us on Friday, May 20, 2022, for a tour of the Santa Monica Police Department’s DFR facilities and a presentation by Barry Brennan, Founder and President of Flying Lion Inc., who will discuss the company’s role with the SMPD DFR Program. This DFR Program tour will demonstrate how SMPD is utilizing sUAS technology to significantly enhance public safety and the capability of first responders in Santa Monica.
Agenda for the session…
• Introductions and presentation
• Break into two or three groups for tours of…
> DFR Air Support Officer Office
> Rooftop DFR Landing Zone
• Back to the conference room for follow up discussion
The meeting/tour is limited to 20 attendees and is free for members and $25 for non-members. For more information and to register to attend the meeting go to https://adflamay22.eventbrite.com/.
Information about joining The A&D Forum is at https://aerospacedefenseforum.org.
The Los Angeles Chapter of The Aerospace & Defense Forum is hosted by Jeffer, Mangels, Butler & Mitchell and sponsored by Chubb, Bolton & Company Insurance Brokers, Moss Adams, and Fifth Third Bank.
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