OCPD UAS Unit demonstrates dropping floating device to swimmer in distress
OCEAN CITY — The Ocean City Police Department unveiled an additional use of its remote-controlled drones last week — the ability to drop a flotation device to a swimmer in distress.
The OCPD’s UAS (Unmanned Aircraft Systems) Unit showed how Ptl. Brandon Smith could be on 12th Street and quickly launch a drone to a swimmer.
Smith flew the drone by remote control over the 12th Street Ocean City Beach Patrol (OCBP) headquarters, over the beach and out into the ocean. He dropped the flotation device to Lt. Bob Reichanek, who portrayed a swimmer in distress for a host of media members and a crowd of curious onlookers who gathered on the beach.
While Reichanek looked like a little dot in the ocean some 50 yards off shore, Smith was able to drop the device mere feet away from the 220-pound officer, who said it easily kept him afloat.
“I just stuck it under my arms and kind of laid there,” he said, waiting to be rescued.
OCBP Lt. Andrew Shaw raced to his aid on a rescue board and brought him back to shore as part of the demonstration.
Having the police drone drop a flotation device to a swimmer on a guarded beach may not be needed when the OCBP guards are on duty nearby, but there are times and places when and where it could be life-saving.
“On an unguarded beach, during the shoulder season when the guards are limited, the response time would be so much faster,” Reichanek said.
“I think it’s really efficient,” Shaw added. “For a lot of our unprotected beaches and after-hours runs, it would be great because as soon as that 911 call goes out it would at least give them flotation and enough time for us to respond and get there.
“Particularly for the after-hours,” Shaw added, “if we have to drive a couple miles down to go get the person, a drone can respond faster and give them something to hold onto until we get there. I think it’s a really genius idea.”
Smith said he loves being part of the drone unit and had years of experience flying drones so he was already familiar when the OCPD initiated the UAS Unit.
“We’re able to marry something we do on our own time as a hobby with work and it makes it that much more fun and enjoyable,” Smith said, noting operating the drone is the favorite part of his job.
OCPD Lt. Mark Pancoast heads the UAS Unit that began operating last year and has been building on its experience going into this summer season.
“We’re not here to take anybody’s job,” Pancoast said about assisting the OCBP. “We’re looking to preserve that life, to give them the extra time they need to have the rescuers get out there and pull them in.”
The UAS Unit’s two drones have multiple cameras including wide angle fixed, moveable wide angle and 30x zoom and thermal. That thermal came in handy recently when it helped locate a suspect around midnight. Pancoast said it made their work quicker than having to bring in a canine unit to track the person down.
The lieutenant said the UAS Unit was initiated at the beginning of last summer so they didn’t have a lot of time to work with the drones then, but now they have a whole year of experience.
Pancoast said the police department’s UAS Unit is using the drones and they are regularly out with officers on patrol to be put into action whenever needed.
“We have an 11-person operation, so we’re lucky enough to have an operator usually in a patrol car 24 hours a day,” Pancoast said. “They take the drone with them. They come in, they get their vest, they get their equipment, they also take the drone with them.”
The beach patrol is “super efficient, super fast, but there are times when they’re not here,” he said, “but we’re usually driving around. We’re out proactively in town. And when these calls come out, we all know that seconds count.”
The drones can be used to monitor situations that may be escalating on the boardwalk — the city has had past problems with crowds of rowdy teens — and to help track down suspects.
Pancoast said the drone can be called in for a shoplifting complaint or a missing person and could potentially help provide a deterrent effect. He noted the drones also can provide a different vantage point for police.
Pancoast said the OCPD has nicknames for its two DJI M30T drones — Karl and Kraig — named for two officers, one retired.
They chose this model drone because they are easy to use and have been around the longest. They can livestream video back to the 911 center. They can also fly in the rain and winds up to 40 mph. The batteries are hot-swappable, meaning it can be kept running when one of the two batteries loses power and the officer can quickly pop another battery in to get the drone right back up so downtime is minimal. The batteries provide 25 to 28 minutes of flight time.
FAA rules limit the drones to a ceiling of 400 feet; they can be operated up to 3,000 to 3,500 feet away.
Beyond that the controller can’t communicate with the drone.
Pancoast said the FAA provides a waiver to allow the drones outside of visual site lines for short periods in special circumstances.
There’s an added interesting feature of the drones: they can display flashing red and blue lights underneath and give the appearance of a tiny flying police vehicle.
– STORY and PHOTOS by DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
