LIBERTY COUNTY, Texas – The Liberty County Sheriff's Office bought a drone with funds secured through court-awarded confiscated drug money.
The agency bought a Phantom 4 Pro Plus.
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Sheriff Bobby Rader said it took months to get the necessary policy in place, and he had worked to make sure the policy would not violate anyone's right to privacy.
Rader said the main objective of the drone will be to save lives in the event of a disaster, find lost children and adults and help in the gathering of data needed to investigate a crime scene.
The sheriff said he believes this system has the ability to take away advantages that a tactical shooter may have in a school or commercial area.
The Texas Department of Public Safety uses drones to survey fatal crash scenes.
Fire departments across the country use drones to plan their strategy during fires.
Deputy Sean Mitchell attended a weeklong course to become the pilot in command of the new Aviation Unit.
Mitchell has assisted in two cases in which drone photos could be critical in a court setting. In one, he assisted the DPS in handling a four-vehicle fatal wreck on Highway 321 and, in the other, he flew the path traveled by a child, who was later found drowned, to determine characteristics of the scene.