Police seek $15K for indoor drone

COEUR d’ALENE — This year, Coeur d’Alene Police have faced situations of a person setting a home on fire, and another saying he boobytrapped his home with explosive.

A drone designed to operate indoors could protect all involved, said Capt. Dave Hager.

“I believe it’s a small price to pay for the lives of the suspects that we deal with and the officers that we represent,” he said.

The General Services/Public Works Committee on Monday approved Hagar’s request to spend nearly $15,000 for a Lemur S. Drone. The money is available due to savings from vacancies in officer positions.

Hagar said the drone will make a big difference in SWAT-type situations.

“People have a tendency to barricade doors and things like that,” he said.

Police utilize “slow and deliberate” tactics for safety reasons when contacting potentially armed suspects inside structures, Hagar said.

Breaking down doors by traditional means could ignite explosive devices.

“We don’t do SWAT operations like you see on TV where they go rushing in,” Hagar said. “We will wait for the opportunity to talk to somebody and get them to come out.”

The Lemur S. Drone is designed to be able to break windows, enter a structure and avoid ground-level obstacles. Via video feedback, it would help police evaluate the situation, locate a suspect and allow people to communicate with them.

The drone was developed in a partnership with a private entity and a municipal SWAT Team and has proven to be effective, a city report said.

The cost of the drone and accessories is $14,995.

The drone could have been deployed on at least three incidents already in 2022, “that would have reduced the risk to both the officers and the suspects alike,” the report said.

The city is not required to seek bids for the drone. Hagar said the Lemur is the only one that meets their needs.

Councilman Dan English supported its purchase.

“It’s one more tool,” he said. “In this day and age if we have the chance for it, it makes sense.”

Councilwoman Christie Wood, who retired as a police sergeant after 26 years of service, said technology like this drone can protect law enforcement and civilians “from the worst possible outcome.”

She said she supported providing police with such tools.

“When I started in law enforcement in 1990, I had a flashlight and a radio in the car," she said.