PPB Launches Drone as First Responder Pilot Program

The Portland Police Bureau (PPB), in partnership with the Gresham Police Department (GPD), is launching a Drone as First Responder pilot program aimed at improving public safety, getting the right first responder to the call, and de-escalating situations. Two of GPD’s unmanned aerial systems (drones) have been installed on the roof of PPB’s East Precinct, and very soon, they will respond directly to certain emergency calls.  East Precinct is located at 737 SE 106th Ave, Portland.

Watch: PPB’s DFR Operational Video

GPD has had a Drone as First Responder (DFR) program for more than two years now, and the concept dates back to a Chula Vista (California) Police Department initiative in 2018. PPB is now initiating a pilot program to launch drones as first responders from the roof of East Precinct, and both PPB and GPD drone pilots will be at the controls. 

The drones will not be used for general surveillance, and their use will be subject to the same strict policies under PPB’s existing UAS program. While traveling to calls for service, the camera will be aimed at the horizon and will not record. Once on scene, operators only record when gathering evidence of a crime.

View full size image of Drone landing in rooftop box.

The DFR Model

The DFR model involves pre-positioning small unmanned aerial systems (UAS/drones) at an advantageous or central location. The UAS is kept in a “ready to launch” condition, unlike current patrol response drones that are stowed in police vehicles and must wait for the responder to arrive at the scene and then deploy.

Current DFR drones have an effective operational range of about 2.5 miles, giving a DFR launch site about 19 square miles of coverage. The pilot is stationed in a control room and is responsible for remotely navigating, manipulating the cameras/sensors on the UAS, and communicating with responders. 

Upon hearing a call for service that the UAS can lawfully support, the pilot launches the drone, which can fly straight to a call. Current drones can reach a call at the outer radius of their effective range in less than two minutes.  Once on scene, a UAS can provide information and situational awareness to other arriving officers, appropriately tailoring a response to an increasing danger or deciding the call warrants an alternative response. The UAS pilot can also determine if officers are no longer needed. 

The UAS provides agencies with “eyes” on a call without exposing responders to immediate danger and without providing anyone on the ground with immediate feedback that responders have arrived. This gives responders time to plan and coordinate their response with the benefit of real-time updates from the UAS pilot, rather than complete reliance on 911 call information.

View full size image of control room

Existing Gresham System

The Gresham Police Department received FAA approval for a DFR program in May 2023.  They operate a DFR response center out of Gresham City Hall, with two UAS’ stationed on the roof of the building. Their program has two additional UAS stationed on the GPD Rockwood Public Safety Facility, for a total of four operational drones. GPD’s equipment is a commercial “drone in a box” system. The box is a semi-autonomous launch pad/dock for the UAS. The dock has motorized covers that open to launch the UAS and close around the UAS after it lands. The dock recharges the UAS and provides climate control to maintain the UAS and its batteries at a state of readiness.

Portland’s Pilot Program

PPB’s existing drone program has been used successfully since the pilot project began in 2023, and it was formalized and expanded in September 2024. The program was thoroughly reviewed and approved by the City Council and detailed statistics are updated monthly on our website. Drones are kept in police vehicles of certified operators (pilots) and deployed when deemed necessary and allowed by policy. In the first 7 months of this year, drones have been deployed 426 times. PPB drones have received zero complaints from the community.

This DFR pilot project is simply the next evolution of the existing drone program. The existing use policy will not change, only from where the drone is being launched and where the pilot is sitting. 

Portland Police members, who are trained pilots, will help staff the GPD drone operations center in Gresham. When a call comes out that a drone can lawfully respond to, the PPB member will initiate the command to launch the drone and deploy to the area. 

The City of Gresham owns all of the equipment and Portland is not purchasing any new drones for this pilot. The only additional cost will be staff time. Due to limited personnel availability, the DFR system will be used during limited time windows. 

Benefits of DFR in Portland

This initiative’s goals are to save lives, save money, and protect the community. 

Drones are able to get to calls for service faster than existing, vehicle-based drones, and many times faster than even the first patrol officer. 

Having real-time information about an emergency call will protect first responders, including police officers, firefighters, paramedics, clinicians, and others. If there is a safety threat to the community, such as an armed suspect, officers can better focus their resources directly on that threat. 

Another benefit is getting the right responder to the right call faster. For calls that involve threats, weapons, or other public safety emergencies, an overhead view will allow police officers to right size their response based on what’s occurring on the ground. Conversely, when calls come in that are unfounded, or would be better suited for a non-police response such as Portland Street Response, then uniformed police officers can be assigned to other calls. DFR is a de-escalation tool, as an armed police response may no longer be necessary in some cases. 

Another benefit is reduced inconvenience for community members. A DFR response will help officers focus their efforts to locate and arrest fleeing suspects quicker, reducing the need for perimeters that disrupt traffic and neighborhood access. 

Addressing concerns

PPB recognizes the concerns expressed by some community members about police use of drones. State law and PPB policies and procedures put in place significant restrictions on police use of this technology, including strict accordance with constitutional and privacy rights. Every deployment requires a careful balance between the benefits and the potential impact to the community. 

Drone pilots are not allowed to record or transmit images of any location where a person would have a reasonable expectation of privacy (including a residence or yard) without a warrant or exigent circumstances. In fact, pilots are directed to take reasonable precautions to avoid those areas unless necessary as part of an authorized use. The UAS video will NOT BE RECORDED by PPB pilots except in situations where there is a reasonable expectation that the data will contain images of evidentiary value. That means it will record only when a crime has occurred, is occurring, or there’s reason to believe it is about to occur. 

PPB is strictly prohibited from using UAS equipment to conduct random or indiscriminate mass surveillance activities, crowd management or control (unless a life safety critical incident occurs), to harass, intimidate, or discriminate against any individual or group, or target a person based solely on individual characteristics such as race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, disability, economic source or status, housing status, gender, or sexual orientation.  

 Portland Police drones are required to be clearly marked and are prohibited from being weaponized by both state law and Police Bureau policies and procedures. 

What’s next

This is a pilot program and will only include two drones that are stored on the roof at East Precinct. Detailed reports and statistics on the program will be kept on our website, and available to the public for review. If successful, the program could be expanded to other areas of the city. Any such expansion will include full transparency and notification to our community. 

Additional Gresham DFR Videos: 

Unmanned Aerial Systems (Drones) | City of Gresham

Meet DRO-9 

For more information about the operation of Gresham’s unmanned aerial systems, contact Lieutenant Mike Amend at  Michael.Amend@GreshamOregon.gov.

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