The Clearwater Police Department has been exploring drone technology for years. Chief Eric Gandy and his team have used the unmanned aerial systems in SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) operations and high-risk situations.
CPD is utilizing a drone to help first responders address calls on Clearwater Beach through a pilot program this month. Choosing the spring break timeframe was ideal, Gandy explained to the Catalyst.
“We’ve done traffic studies out at Clearwater Beach and we saw 50,000 vehicles going over the Memorial Causeway bridge during spring break on certain occasions,” he said. “When you have crowds like that, I think the drone giving that bird’s eye view to a potential problem is a game changer.”…