CINCINNATI — If you make an emergency call, you may soon be met with a responding drone before a police officer.
The Cincinnati Police Department announced Friday the launch of its new Drone as First Responder (DFR) program that Chief Teresa Theetge said she believes will help the safety of officers and citizens.
"This is a game-changing, life-saving, future-defining technology," Theetge said.
When an emergency call comes in, Theetge said CPD's drones will be deployed to the scene almost immediately. She said they will then be able to determine what is happening before an officer arrives.
"We can identify risks early, respond faster and deploy resources more efficiently than ever before," Theetge said.
Learn more about how CPD will use the drones to respond to emergency calls in the video below:
Theetge said the DFR program will start by covering roughly 40% of the city. She said those areas include:
- Price Hill
- OTR
- Queensgate
- West End
- Downtown
- CUF
- Northside
- Spring Grove Village
"But our goal is bold: 90% citywide coverage by the end of 2025," Theetge said.
If you have questions about how this program will work, send your questions to reporter Alex Null at Alex.Null@wcpo.com.
Theetge said the drones will be piloted by officers who are FAA-certified to do so.
WCPO 9 News spoke to Sgt. Jay Kemme, who is one of those officers. He said he believes it will lead to faster and more efficient responses.
"I think we can help with anything," Kemme said. "From a car crash on the highway, frequently those will come in a mile away from where they actually are."
It's not a new concept to the area. The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office also launched a DFR program earlier this year.
However, Theetge said CPD will be the first to deploy the full software ecosystem that is provided by the partnering companies Skydio and Axon.
"Cincinnati's program is now the largest DFR deployment, not just in Ohio, but across the entire Midwest," said Noreen Charlton, public safety strategy leader at Skydio.
Theetge said the drones will not be used for random surveillance of citizens.
"They will only be used to respond to dispatched calls for service," Theetge said.
We tried to ask Theetge more about how this program will work, but she did not take any questions at Friday's news conference. She said the department will be able to better answer questions sometime next week.
WCPO 9 News is committed to getting you answers about this new technology. Send your questions to Alex.Null@wcpo.com, and we will take them directly to the chief to get answers about how this program could better serve as a solution to addressing crime in the city.
