LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Metro Police showed off their crime fighting technology with a live drone demonstration in Chinatown Tuesday, hosted by Fukuburger.
“That’s what the thermal camera looks like. It allows us when there’s a dark scene or all the lights are off, it allows us to see that people are there,” said LVMPD Officer Jordan Pelley, while demonstrating the drone’s thermal camera.
“I am amazed at how well the footage looks on there, and the light was really bright too,” said Vivian Nguyen, a member of the Vietnamese American community of Las Vegas, who came out to see the demo.
“It’s kind of like a helicopter, but it’s actually different. It’s so cool!” said a young girl named Skye, who also watched the demonstration.
Metro Police showed the community how drones can be used to fight crime in their neighborhoods and track down suspects in different situations — from shoplifting to police chases — like one just last week.
“There was a suspect wanted for a violent felony in our community. Patrol officers attempted to apprehend him, but he took off from them on foot,” said Officer Pelley. “We were able to launch the drone and find him walking in the neighborhood, and patrol officers were able to take him into custody.”
Metro says there are also discussions in the works to have drones stationed at police area command posts — like the one in Spring Valley, which covers the Chinatown corridor — so drone units can respond to crimes in the area more quickly.
“A lot of my friends own businesses around here, and they’re always worried about safety or car break-ins and if it’s safe to come out of their restaurant at night, so this helps a lot,” said Nguyen.
The Metro Police drones have a lot of capabilities, but one thing they’re not able to do is talk to suspects through a speaker. Officer Pelley says that’s a feature they may look into adding sometime in the future.
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