Montgomery County police to hold drone program meeting with Bethesda-Chevy Chase community

Montgomery County police looking to expand drone program to Bethesda

A pilot drone program in Montgomery County is looking to expand to more areas, but the police department wants to hear from the public first. FOX 5's Homa Bash has the story.

BETHESDA, Md. - Bethesda-Chevy Chase is next on the list of community town halls to discuss the Montgomery County Police Department’s newer drone program.

A meeting with the County Executive, 2nd District Police Commander, and Councilmember is planned for Wednesday, July 17, at 7 p.m. at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School auditorium.

Currently, the county has a pilot drone program operating in Silver Spring and in Wheaton.

Montgomery County police to hold drone program meeting

Bethesda-Chevy Chase is next on the list of community town halls to discuss the Montgomery County Police Department’s newer drone program.

It’s called the "Drone As First Responder" Program or "DFR" for short, meant to help police get real time information on incidents.

FOX 5 got to speak with MCPD Special Operations Division head and 3rd District Commander, Captain Jason Cokinos, on how the program would operate within the Bethesda area.

This particular community has been dealing with theft and carjackings, among other crimes. Another serious matter police responded to in the area last year has included large groups of teens gathering and fighting.

Montgomery County Police Chief says drone program would get police on scene faster than ever

"The Drone as First Responder Program. There’s a drone that’s pre-positioned on a rooftop. This will be in downtown Bethesda, and that drone will be sent to 911 or police-generated calls. So, if someone calls 911 and says, you know, there are a bunch of kids fighting at the Metro, that would be an assault in progress. We would send the drone to that," said Captain Jason Cokinos, "If an office sees something, you know an officer can callout with that. The drone can go assist the officer. So that’s one call type that we would fly for."

"One thing that the drone first responder does not do is proactively patrol. So, you won’t see a drone flying around Bethesda, patrolling. You’re not going to see a drone surveilling or anything like that. So it would be in response to a call," the captain added.

We know many parents were very worried about fighting breaking-out at rivalry high school sports games in years past. Captain Cokinos said parents would not see drones flying at those games unless an emergency call goes out.

Cokinos tells FOX 5 right now they’re still working to identify which building will host the MCPD DFR drone in downtown Bethesda. Drone operators must be certified and have certain permissions since Bethesda-Chevy Chase is within D.C.’s flight restricted airspace. Just because people see police flying drones does not mean everyone else can start flying a recreational drone whenever they want.

Cokinos says the department has seen success with the Silver Spring and Wheaton pilot DFR program. Their online data dashboard says the drone is being used the most in theft and larceny cases. The second-highest calls are for a suspicious person or vehicle.

Montgomery County Police Chief says drone program would get police on scene faster than ever

The captain tells FOX 5 so far, they’ve been able to locate over 200 people with the use of the drone. He also says the drone and other night life safety measures have brought down crime in Silver Spring. Cokinos is working on reports to be released soon.

We’re told the drone is getting to the scene in a minute or less.

"The other cool piece is the drone gets there so fast that, in over 140 calls, we’ve actually be able to cancel police officers. So, we have officers that are one the way. The drone gets there first, determines that an officer is not needed, and that helps with our staffing shortages, so we’re allow to free up our officers to go to other emergencies. So, it’s been pretty successful so far," said Captain Cokinos.

Many residents still have serious concerns about what the drone sees, whether it’s recording, and where police are using it.

If you can’t attend the Wednesday Town Hall to ask questions, residents can also reach out to Montgomery County Police here: https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/pol/howdoI/drone-as-first-responder.html