Orange County sheriff's office asks county attorney to seek FAA authorization to expand drone operations

The Orange County Sheriff's Office requested that the county attorney send a letter to the Federal Aviation Administration asking for a Certificate of Authorization so the office can operate small unmanned aircraft systems beyond visual line of sight and for limited operations over people.

The request was presented by Michael Cash, identified in the meeting as a chief deputy for the sheriff’s office. Cash told the board the office currently operates five outdoor small unmanned aircraft systems (SUAS) and two tactical drones, and that all pilots hold FAA Part 107 certifications. He said the COA would let crews conduct missions the current Part 107 rules prohibit, including certain beyond-visual-line-of-sight searches in wooded areas and limited flights over people during critical incidents.

The COA request matters because it would expand the sheriff’s capacity for search-and-rescue, tactical reconnaissance and fire-rescue support. “Hoping that you will ask the county attorney to present a letter on our behalf to the FAA advising them who we are and that we're operating a drone program,” Cash said, adding that the COA would “allow me to fly outside of [visual line of sight]” during searches in heavily wooded terrain. He described tactical drones that can be used inside buildings to navigate hallways and take photographs, and outdoor drones the office uses for crowd monitoring and crash-scene surveys.

Cash described current equipment and use cases: the office flies DJI Mavic 3 Enterprise drones that can capture 4K video and high-resolution photographs and deploy tactical drones that can be inserted into barricade situations. He said county pilots use drones for crowd monitoring at events such as horse races at Montpelier and for thermal imaging at structure and brush fires. He gave an example of a pursuit where drones helped law enforcement locate a suspect who had bailed from a vehicle and hid in dense brush.

Cash summarized legal and operational constraints cited by the FAA and by state law. Under Part 107, small UAS must be within the visual line of sight of the remote pilot and generally cannot fly over people or beyond 400 feet above ground except under specific waivers. He said the COA would allow missions outside those constraints in defined situations. Cash also noted local agreements the office has secured to permit flights over private properties: several county golf courses have given consent to county drone flights for business checks and post-incident investigations.

County Attorney Amy Wilson confirmed the county attorney’s office drafted a letter following provided guidelines and indicated the draft was in the meeting packet. “Yes. We drafted the letter using the guidelines provided by New Jersey Pass,” Wilson said during the discussion.

Board members did not call for a formal vote; Michael Cash asked for a consensus that the county attorney send the letter and the board expressed support. The board did not adopt a formal motion on the record during the public portion of the discussion; Cash said a consensus would be fine to proceed.

The presentation outlined safeguards the sheriff’s office intends to follow: pilots assigned one drone each, restrictions on not operating from moving vehicles, avoidance of weaponization of aircraft, notification of air traffic where appropriate, and adherence to state laws prohibiting certain operations by people under protective orders or required to avoid contact with minors. Cash emphasized that evidence obtained in violation of applicable code sections could be excluded in court, underscoring the department’s intent to comply with legal constraints.

The sheriff’s office said the drone program is registered and that 2024 was its first full year, during which the office flew 21 missions.

If the county attorney sends the letter and the FAA issues a COA, county officials said that would allow the sheriff’s office to extend drone support to fire-rescue, search-and-rescue, tactical operations and some crowd and event monitoring in Orange County under conditions described in the COA.