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Monroe County sheriff outlines drone ‘first‑responder’ pilot; board questions privacy and cost
Summary
Sheriff Goodenough and Capt. Dave Raymond presented a Drone-as-a-First-Responder pilot at the June 3 Monroe County Board meeting, describing rapid automated launches, FLIR imaging and a public flight-path portal; commissioners and residents pressed for privacy safeguards, oversight and clear cost estimates.
Sheriff Goodenough and Capt. Dave Raymond presented a Drone-as-a-First-Responder pilot to the Monroe County Board of Commissioners on June 3, saying automatic dock-launched drones could reach scenes within roughly 90 seconds and provide thermal and video intelligence to first responders.
The sheriff said the pilot is intended to assist — not replace — deputies and other first responders. “This pilot program is one of many resources we plan on testing to determine its value to the citizens of Monroe County,” he said. Capt. Raymond described technical details: automated docks in proposed locations in Frenchtown Charter Township and Monroe Charter Township, an average flight time of about 55 minutes with roughly 25 minutes on scene, a planned automated transit altitude of 200 feet and integration with 911 dispatch and fixed license-plate readers.
Why it matters: county officials said faster aerial situational awareness could improve responses to crashes, hazardous-material incidents and missing-person searches. Capt. Raymond said drones can read placards on derailed tankers and relay live intel to fire command to inform apparatus decisions.
Board members asked practical and operational questions about weather limitations, pilot certification and whether the department would retain existing drones. The sheriff and captain said pilots will be FAA Part 107–certified, the existing six drones will remain in service, and the DFR units would complement those resources. The sheriff estimated a go‑live roughly two months after infrastructure work and a one‑year pilot from go‑live, with a possible year‑two operating cost of about $250,000 for the two pilot platforms and a five‑year expansion scenario that could approach $1 million annually if the program is fully scaled.
Privacy and transparency were recurring themes. Capt. Raymond said the county has obtained FAA waivers to fly beyond visual line of sight and that the Flock platform provides a public transparency portal showing launch time, flight path and endpoints. He said non‑evidentiary flight data would be retained in vendor storage for about 30 days and wiped; footage with evidentiary value would be retained in the agency’s digital evidence locker according to retention policy. “We’re not hiding anything,” he said of the transparency portal.
Next steps: officials said they will complete required infrastructure upgrades at pilot sites, convene a multi‑stakeholder evaluation committee (including civil‑liberties representation), and begin the pilot’s operational phase once systems are installed.
