The New Orleans Police & Justice Foundation, a police booster organization, has committed to providing $500,000 to purchase an additional three emergency-response drones for the New Orleans Police Department, allowing the program to expand more quickly than previously known.
The funding supplements $250,000 allocated by the French Quarter Management District in March for a single remote-piloted police drone and docking station that can respond to 911 calls in the historic neighborhood.
Foundation spokesperson Matthew Stone said the funding will support deployment of three drones, mostly in and around the French Quarter. But he said they could also be used in other parts of the city and that the foundation is seeking more donors…