Minnetonka Police Launch Minnesota’s First Drone as First Responder Program
July 24, 2025
The Minnetonka Police Division, serving a suburban neighborhood situated roughly 10 miles west of Minneapolis, MN, with a inhabitants of almost 54,000, is the primary within the state to deploy drones in a real-time emergency response mannequin as a part of a Drones as First Responder (DFR) program. The division started growing this system greater than two years in the past and just lately obtained full approval from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to function drones Past Visible Line of Sight (BVLOS), a important element of any scalable DFR program.
In line with the police division, the aim is to not exchange officers on the bottom, however to present them an eye fixed within the sky earlier than they arrive at a scene. By launching a drone instantly after a 911 name is obtained, the division can ship reside video footage to responding items, command workers, and dispatchers inside moments. “We’re in a position to get drones on scene a lot quicker than officers can reply in a automotive,” mentioned Minnetonka Police Chief Scott Boerboom. “The true-time intelligence permits us to make higher choices and maintain everybody safer.”
The DFR program at present operates out of 1 launch web site situated close to Minnetonka’s police headquarters. It makes use of an automatic drone-in-a-box system that enables for speedy deployment with out the necessity for an on-site pilot. The system is overseen by FAA-certified Half 107 pilots who monitor the drone’s flight path and keep command over operations from a distant location. When a high-priority name is available in, equivalent to a theft in progress, a disturbance, or an accident with accidents, the drone is dispatched robotically to the scene.
This system is powered by expertise from California-based Flying Lion, Inc., a number one supplier of public security drone options based by Barry Brennan in 2014. Flying Lion has supported a number of different DFR applications throughout the nation, together with in Chula Vista, CA, the primary division in the US to obtain BVLOS approval for drone response operations. In Minnetonka, Flying Lion offers the distant pilot staffing and operational assist that enables the system to perform as a 24/7 device for first responders.
In line with the Minnetonka Police Division, this system is designed with each security and privateness in thoughts. All drone flights are logged, recorded, and reviewed, and the division has carried out strict insurance policies governing knowledge retention and licensed use. The drones don’t conduct random surveillance and are solely deployed in response to particular requires service. “The drones aren’t flying across the metropolis on the lookout for issues to become involved in,” mentioned Chief Boerboom. “They’re dispatched in response to a selected occasion, similar to an officer could be.” To assist educate the neighborhood and keep transparency, the division held a public demonstration of the system earlier this 12 months and repeatedly posts updates to its web site and social media channels.
The FAA’s BVLOS approval permits Minnetonka’s DFR program to function with out the necessity for visible observers stationed alongside the flight path, a key requirement that has traditionally restricted the scalability of drone applications. With this approval in place, the division now has the flexibleness to increase this system to extra launch websites throughout town and improve its protection space. Chief Boerboom mentioned the division ultimately hopes to have three or 4 drone hubs all through Minnetonka, which might enable them to answer almost any location within the metropolis inside a couple of minutes.
Minnetonka joins a steadily rising inhabitants of emergency response companies throughout the nation implementing DFR applications. In Minnetonka’s case, the police division sees this system as an funding in each officer security and neighborhood belief. As Chief Boerboom places it, “It’s one other device to assist us shield the neighborhood, and it offers us a greater alternative to get issues resolved peacefully and safely.”
With the system now operational and FAA approval secured, Minnetonka plans to refine and increase its drone response mannequin within the months forward. If profitable, it may function a blueprint for different Minnesota cities contemplating related initiatives. As public security companies proceed exploring new applied sciences to satisfy trendy challenges, Minnetonka’s DFR program is poised to set a brand new customary for what emergency response can seem like within the twenty first century.
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