Police demonstrate new drone capability; council agrees to pursue second CAD administrator

Police leaders demonstrated two new drone platforms for council Monday and described operational uses, and the council agreed to move forward with a personnel ordinance to add a second CAD (computer‑aided dispatch) administrator.

Captain Crump and officers displayed a Responder platform and an indoor Lemur 2, explained that the department has handled roughly 200 calls using drones, and described features including live streaming (LiveOps), day/thermal imaging, a speaker, payload delivery capabilities and a responder payload capacity of up to 5 pounds (with the Lemur limited to roughly 1 pound). Officers said the responder uses a cellular chip for connectivity to reduce prior connection issues, that batteries run conservatively 25–30 minutes per flight, and that operations require legal protections (search warrants for targeted backyard surveillance). The department said training was provided at no charge by vendor Brink and that additional units are planned over the contract life.

Later in new business, the police committee proposed adding a second CAD administrator position to provide more reliable 24/7 coverage, split job duties (CAD, NetMotion VPN, MDT management, radio programming and phone/CAD/server troubleshooting) and reduce downtime when systems fail. Staff proposed converting an existing supervisor slot and leveraging current vacancies so the new position would not require a mid‑year budget amendment this fiscal year; Councilmembers Brent and Sames agreed to sponsor a personnel ordinance to formalize the position. Council discussed the role's operational importance and the plan to review the budget next year for longer‑term funding.

No vote was taken Monday on the personnel ordinance; the police committee and staff will bring formal language for council consideration.