(Photo via Pixabay).
Drones for the city of Cortland’s first responders have been purchased and are set to arrive soon, noted at Wednesday’s Police Commission meeting.
The city authorized the purchase of two drones back at the June 21 Common Council meeting. The drones, totalled over $10,000, are the EVO Max 4T and a DJI Avata Explorer models.
According to the resolution from the June 21 agenda, the drones will be shared between the city’s police and fire departments.
City police chief Paul Sandy noted at Wednesday’s Police Commission meeting that his department received a $4,000 donation from the Cortland Breakfast Rotary’s annual Ride for Rotary.
Sandy, who noted the city police department had $5,000 for the drones, said the city fire department matched the $5,000 to complete the purchase of the drones.
The drones are used for search and rescue, tactical firefighting, hazmat identification and surveillance, barricade suspect/hostage situations, high-risk search warrants, monitoring large events and more.
City police officer Matt Maniaci, along with Sgt. Ryan Riley will be involved with the drones, said Sandy in the past. Sandy added that both officers are Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)-certified operators of the drones.
Training for the drones will occur every month, Sandy said.
