by Wesley Harris
The Ruston Police Department took delivery of its highly anticipated unmanned aerial vehicle, informally known as a drone, Monday.
The drone, which was lifted to the top of City Hall by a huge crane, will be launched to provide “eyes and ears” at critical scenes and provide live information to responding police officers and firefighters.
The drone is part of Police Chief Eric Watson’s plan to establish a real-time intelligence center that will collect video from fixed cameras at local businesses, police officer body cameras, license plate readers, and other information sources to help police locate suspects and solve crimes quickly.
In October, RPD, along with Mayor Ronny Walker, Ruston Fire officials, and others viewed a live demonstration of the “Drone as a First Responder” (DFR) program—an innovative technology designed to enhance community safety and improve officer effectiveness.
RPD said the demonstration marked the beginning of a pilot program to provide dispatchers and first responders with real-time situational awareness during critical incidents. By integrating drone technology into emergency response, the RPD aims to strengthen its ability to respond quickly, safely, and efficiently.
Chief Watson has touted the DFR in a number of community meetings since joining the department in March 2025. He described scenarios where the DFR would provide information from the scene of a critical incident before officers can reach the location such as location of a shooter or a fleeing suspect.
Mayor Ronny Walker said the drone can be used by other city departments such as the fire department and utilities department.
Walker said the drone can reach the scene of a reported fire in seconds, allowing RFD to make quick decisions on how many vehicles and fire fighters need to be sent to the scene.
“It will be an asset to the fire department to know if there’s a bit of smoke showing or if the house is fully engulfed in flames,” Walker said. “That makes decisions on how many resources to send to the scene easier.”
The drone can also respond to emergencies involving hazardous materials, allowing RFD to assess the situation from a safe distance.
Watson said the drone would have been invaluable during the ice storm earlier this year when first responders had difficulty reaching the scenes of some emergencies.
“We hope to implement this program based on proven successes in other jurisdictions that have pioneered the DFR model,” Watson said in October. “The data is clear—deploying a drone to a 911 call as a first responder can dramatically reduce overall response times and increase both officer and community safety.”
When a 911 call is received for a high-priority incident, a dispatcher can deploy the drone from the launch site, sending it to the scene in seconds, or at the most, a few minutes—often before officers arrive on the ground.
The drone is operated from department headquarters, streaming live video and other critical data directly to responding officers. This allows officers to make better-informed decisions before arriving on scene.
The device is equipped with features not found on the typical low-cost civilian-use drone. The DFR is equipped with flood lights, a loudspeaker, an audible warning device, and has the capability to transport items such as first aid equipment to a location.
The information gathered can assist in locating missing persons or fleeing suspects, assessing vehicle crashes, documenting crime scenes, or providing eyes on potentially dangerous situations without risk to officers.
For example, the DFR could be used for up-close communication with a hostage taker, to safely examine a suspicious device without getting too close, or locate an active shooter.
Watson calls the drone a “force multiplier,” allowing a smaller group of staff to accomplish more than a much larger force by employing a technology to achieve the same result as a much larger force that lacks the technology.
Mayor Walker said he sees value in the program.
“This is another case of the City trying to work smarter than harder,” Walker said. “This allows our police and fire departments or any city department to know what they’re facing before they ever reach the scene.”
Watson said training will take place in the coming days to teach personnel when and how to use it.
The DFR system is made by BRINC, a company formed in response to the 2017 Las Vegas shooting in which 60 people were killed. BRINC has deployed its drones in 900 public safety agencies globally.
The city gets to utilize the drone in Year No. 1 for free as part of the pilot program and then can decide if it wishes to continue for an additional four years at a total cost of around $400,000. That cost would be split between the RPD and the Ruston Fire Department, divided based on utilization in the first year.
“I have vowed to Mayor Walker that we will be fiscally responsible,” said Watson. “If we don’t believe it is worth it after the first year, we won’t continue.”
