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Northglenn police say drone "first responder" tactic helped identify fireworks violations during July 4 weekend
Summary
City officials said July 14 that Northglenn Police deployed two fireworks teams and used a drone as a first responder during the July 4 holiday, identifying locations faster and producing about 20 citations for illegal fireworks so far; staff said final numbers and citation types are being compiled.
Northglenn officials reported July 14 that police used a drone as a "first responder" during the July 4 holiday enforcement effort, allowing officers to locate and dispatch to illegal-fireworks incidents more quickly, and that the department had issued about 20 citations so far for fireworks violations.
City Manager Geier opened the item by praising the police deployment and saying he participated in a ride-along on the evening of July 4. "I am really proud of the work that the police department has done in fireworks enforcement," Geier said. He described sergeant Josh Moreau dispatching fireworks-enforcement teams to reported locations and said the approach was "strategic and brilliant" in being responsive to resident complaints.
Northglenn Police Chief May told council the department issued roughly 20 fireworks citations the night of July 4 and that officers received "over 200 plus calls for service" that evening. Chief May said the department used two fireworks teams and deployed the drone differently than in prior years: "This year, we used the drone as a first responder," he said, explaining that the aircraft was launched from the Justice Center and moved quickly to reported locations so officers could be dispatched with descriptions and addresses from the air.
Chief May compared the tactic to last year, when the drone was used to gather evidence afterward and led to many investigative targets but relatively few court summonses. He said the new approach sped identification and dispatching and suggested the tactic could be expanded next year by deploying two drones.
Council member Kondo asked whether the drones operated beyond visual line of sight of their controllers; Chief May said the drone was launched from the Justice Center and covered multiple neighborhoods, including Fox Run and Northwest Open Space, and that the department would refine the tactic. Chief May and City Manager Geier emphasized the police department engaged residents respectfully during enforcement and that officers relied on de-escalation training on a night with some heated interactions.
The city manager and chief said final counts and a breakdown of citation types were still being compiled and would be shared with council once incident reports were uploaded.
