Duluth Police Using Drones To Assist Their Officers

DULUTH, Minn. — You’re used to seeing Duluth police officers in their vehicles at ground level. Now, with the help of drones, police can see what’s going on from above or inside a building.

Since creating its drone unit last July, the police have had this equipment on hand for use as needed.

The most obvious use is in search and rescue operations. That’s where patrol officer and drone operator, Jacob Lizakowski, was recently called in to help.

“The last time I used it was to help locate a missing hiker who was due back, two hours late. I was able to work in the road, I was able to be the first one on the scene,” said Lizakowski.

“Deployed the drone, was able to start using my thermals to assist other officers and other responders to help that person out and locate him. ”

Last November a police drone was used to help officers serve an arrest warrant on a man in this house. The drone pilot was able to see through a window and relay information to other officers.  They were directed to where the suspect was and made an arrest.

Two of the department’s six drones are for use outside and have more features. The four smaller drones are for inside a building and help keep officers out of harm’s way.

“But really, it’s the ability to put that in where we don’t have to put a person in that place that could jeopardize them at any point,” said Lizakowski. “So I think that’s where the biggest thing is–the safety thing for us.”

The department’s goal is to have one drone pilot working each shift.   So, for most of their time, the pilots are patrolling Duluth’s streets, just like any other officer.

At public meetings to discuss the creation of the drone unit, there were some concerns about how the drones would be used, specifically, would a drone follow someone around?

“No, we’re not using these right now to seek out crime. They’re not used in any means and fashion that have facial recognition, biometric scanners, we just don’t have that capability with that,” said Lizakowski.

Right now, they’re used for very specific incidents. They are used in conjunction with search warrants and as long as we meet state statutes to prevent bodily harm or death, those are when we are using them. We’re not just flying around looking at people.”

Each time a drone is used, a report is filed with the police department’s Citizen Review Board for its evaluation.

Lizakowski says the drone unit is still fairly new, but he expects the department’s drones to be used much more frequently in the future.