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Austintown unveils drug enforcement drone
AUSTINTOWN
Austintown trustees drone
Video
Austintown Township Trustees Jim Davis and Doug McGlynn and Fiscal Officer Laura Wolfe watch a demonstration of the township's new police drone at Tuesday night's trustees meeting by Patrolman Ryan Reese.
Christmas came early for township trustees who tested a new drug-enforcement tool at a Tuesday meeting: a drone purchased through a local grant worth about $16,000.
Coalition for a Drug-Free Mahoning County cut the township a $20,490 check in September to reimburse the township for the equipment, as well as officer training and certification. The coalition received a $75,000 grant in May from a foundation tied to opioid distributor Cardinal Health, which established a funding vein for local communities struck by the opioid epidemic, said Angela DiVito, coalition executive director.
“Looking at our county data, I knew that Austintown and Boardman were two of our hardest-hit communities with overdoses,” she said. “I asked them what their ‘wish list’ was.”
Austintown Patrolman Ryan Reese said Tuesday he researched the type of drone best suited to police work and spent months training to use it before taking a drone pilot certification test.
The equipment itself is “top of the line,” Reese said – a step below military grade – and could be used while executing drug warrants, to follow moving vehicles or on search and rescue missions. The drone’s mounted camera takes photos, records video and employs several different thermal sensors.
“It’s going to be a big advantage because if bad guys are going to start using them, we need to start using them,” Reese said.
DiVito said the drone could help increase overdose response times to places that aren’t navigable by vehicle. The township fire department also could use the drone to assess active structure fires, Reese said. Township Zoning Inspector Darren Crivelli said Tuesday he could also use the device during inspections.
Township detective Lt. Jeff Solic is also trained to use the drone, Reese said.
Boardman Township police also received about $34,000 from the Cardinal Health grant, which funded overtime pay to increase patrols in areas with heavy reported opioid abuse as well as heightened training for neighborhood watch groups, DiVito said.
The remainder of the grant paid for advertisements on drug disposal sites and substance-abuse training for Youngstown State University students, she said.