Drones have become a vital tool in law enforcement, and the Savage Police Department now has two of them. The program is designed to help officers search for missing people, assess serious crash scenes, respond to natural disasters, and get a safer, smarter view of emergency situations before anyone has to walk into an unknown environment.

Training came first
In February, 10 officers completed 10 hours of drone pilot training, then logged additional flight time to become comfortable with the controls. The goal was simple: make sure officers know what they're doing before the drones go up.

Two drones, two jobs
The department chose two models, each built for a specific purpose. The DJI Avata 2 is small and nimble, and built to fly through hallways and tight spaces inside buildings. When officers need to see what’s inside a structure before they enter, this is the one that goes in first.
The DJI Matrice 4T is designed for big outdoor scenes. It has advanced cameras, thermal imaging, and can stay in the air longer, making it ideal for when officers need to cover a large area fast. Together, the two drones give officers a real-time picture of what's happening inside and outside a structure so that they can locate victims, spot hazards, and find suspects before putting anyone in harm's way.

Transparency built in
“This is not about surveillance," reminds Police Chief Juell. "These drones are tools for safety and emergency response only." State law requires the department to delete drone footage within seven days unless it's part of an active investigation or there's a specific legal reason to keep it. Every flight will be logged in a publicly accessible dashboard on the city website, where anyone can look up why a drone was deployed, where it flew, and more.

See them in action
Stop by the Savage Police Open House on May 16 to watch live demonstrations of both drones in action. Officers will run live demonstrations, walk through real scenarios, and answer questions. They're also holding a "Name Our Drone" contest– so come ready with your best ideas!