Council asks about drones, canines and tracking for special deployments

Councilors asked if the department records the use of drones, canine teams and other special resources so the city can quantify productivity and mutual assistance.

Councilman Gillis asked whether drone and K-9 deployments and outside units are captured in analytics. Chief Travis Ruby said some field-service units and assists appear in the blotter but detectives and many investigative assists are not consistently logged. "So, as far as when other units come into the city, generally speaking, if they're in a field service function and not as much of an investigative function, then yes, they generally will log on and that's in the blotter," Ruby said. He agreed to follow up with technical supervisors on whether the department maintains a record of drone deployments.

Ruby also recounted the operational value of drones and canines: drones have helped search and rescue and event monitoring, and the department uses county canine resources (and recently deployed "Grizz," a drug-detection canine). Councilors signaled support for more deliberate drone capability in the foothills as development continues.

Why it matters: Tracking these resource uses improves after-action review, budget justification and public transparency about the tools the city deploys for safety and events. Chief Ruby and staff will follow up on documentation and whether a formal tracking log can be produced.