May Denton Police Drone meeting
Dennis Brooks, Club Officer
Acting Lieutenant Bryan Cose of the Denton Police Department, head of the four-officer drone unit, gave a presentation on drone use for our May Drone Club meeting. Lt. Cose developed the Denton Police program and was prime in getting it approved by the Denton City Council. He gave a detailed history of the Denton Police program, restrictions, community interaction, and examples of use. The normal 45-minute presentation became a wonderful hour and a half on how the Denton Police use drones to protect officers, the public and offenders, find lost people, diagram accident scenes, and work with the Denton Fire Department to enhance drone use in both departments. A recording of the presentation is on the club website for members who could not attend.
The presentation, infrared videos, and DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise drone display were so well received that Bryan and I did not get out until 9 p.m. This was because he gave a very well received presentation, question and answer session, then demonstrated the Department DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise with all accessories, citing real-world examples of use.
Lt. Cose is the Deputy Commander of the Hostage Negotiations team for the Denton Police and currently has a 100% record of talking out suspects without anyone hurt.
One of the aspects shown was an infrared night training exercise where a dog took down the suspect. The drone located the suspect in 60 seconds. The dog took six minutes, but the dog did get the “suspect’s” sleeve, easily seen in total darkness with the infrared drone camera, trotting back dragging the sleeve as a trophy. Everyone enjoyed having the Denton Police represented. This was one of our best meetings since the club was started in 2020.
The Drone Club has no dues. We meet the fourth Monday of every month, other than August and December, at the CATC, Room 104, at 7 p.m. The meetings usually last an hour. All residents and guests are welcome. Please come and enjoy the presentations and discussions. We do discuss appropriate drones based on experience and goals. We also mentor new students for safe and legal flying at Robson Ranch Denton.
Meeting attendees: 12
Total Drone Club membership: 21
Sgt. Bryan Cose led the effort to bring drones to the Denton Police. He joined forces with the Denton Fire Department. Each department has a drone, and in an unusual move, pilots from either department can fly the identical drones. The departments use the same software and secure storage under separate accounts.