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Beaumont council approves $900,000 three‑year drone first‑responder program to give officers aerial 'eyes on' 911 calls
Summary
The council authorized a three‑year agreement with Flock Safety to deploy an autonomous drone first‑responder system, paid initially from salary savings. Staff says drones will be on scene in under 90 seconds to improve officer and public safety; council approved the contract by unanimous roll call.
The Beaumont City Council on April 21 approved a three‑year agreement with Flock Safety to implement a drone first‑responder (DFR) program designed to provide near‑instant aerial oversight of 911 calls.
Police Chief presented the proposal, saying the system uses Flock’s aerodyne autonomous flying capability. “The drone was on scene in about 15 seconds and was able to capture every vehicle in that parking lot before the first officer arrived,” the Chief said during the demonstration. Chief described another test in which a drone reached a simulated high‑school scene in a little over a minute and identified a subject; in the real‑life bank alarm demonstration the drones arrived faster than officers.
The program will field four drones with redundancy: as a battery runs low a relief drone will launch so cameras remain on scene. Two rooftop basing locations (city hall and Fire Station 106) are planned so staff estimates…
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