California Sheriff Says Their Drone Disarmed a Suspect, Shares Video on Instagram (sfgate.com)
(Saturday June 27, 2026 @05:48PM (EditorDavid)
from the drone-to-a-knife-fight dept.)
- Reference: 0184128594
- News link: https://yro.slashdot.org/story/26/06/27/0635220/california-sheriff-says-their-drone-disarmed-a-suspect-shares-video-on-instagram
- Source link: https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/california-police-drone-responders-22315437.php
The Los Angeles Police Department [1]says about 1,500 police agencies across America have drone programs, [2]reports SFGate , and 58 of those drone-using police agencies are in California.
The Sacramento County sheriff's office recently posted [3]drone footage on Instagram set to theme from " Mission: Impossible ," claiming "a nationwide first" where their drone successfully disarmed a felon "seen earlier with a firearm" (though now not moving, but holding a knife while lying face down in a garage). In the video the "not responding" suspect continues not moving as the drone dangles a magnet which catches on the knife. The drone then pulls multiple times until it comes out of the unmoving suspect's hand. The sheriff's office says their footage shows their drone "disarm an armed suspect, helping bring the incident to a safe resolution," in their post on Instagram, "rather than rush into a potentially deadly encounter..."
> Was he pretending to be dead or simply lying in wait for deputies to approach...?
>
> It's also worth noting that our drones are labeled as "military equipment" (even though anyone can purchase them at their local Walmart), but are really just another piece of technology helping deputies resolve dangerous situations safely. Their use protects both law enforcement personnel and suspects.
SFGate offers [4]more reports from around California :
> In Yucaipa, officials launched a Drone as First Responder (DFR) pilot program on May 28, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department announced [5]this month . According to the release, drones have already been used to respond to over 100 calls for service, arriving before deputies for 71% of them. "The drones also contributed to 12 arrests, assisted in locating persons of interest on 37 occasions, and provided aerial overwatch during 44 incidents," it continues, though details on how they assisted the police are unclear. The drones, manufactured by Skydio, were also used to locate a young person experiencing a mental health crisis and another person launching illegal fireworks.
[1] https://www.lapdonline.org/drone/
[2] https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/california-police-drone-responders-22315437.php
[3] https://www.instagram.com/reel/DZ4-tdPtbey/
[4] https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/california-police-drone-responders-22315437.php
[5] https://nixle.us/HDYY5?_ga=2.10071797.1527361777.1782136382-1228344719.1778769615
The Sacramento County sheriff's office recently posted [3]drone footage on Instagram set to theme from " Mission: Impossible ," claiming "a nationwide first" where their drone successfully disarmed a felon "seen earlier with a firearm" (though now not moving, but holding a knife while lying face down in a garage). In the video the "not responding" suspect continues not moving as the drone dangles a magnet which catches on the knife. The drone then pulls multiple times until it comes out of the unmoving suspect's hand. The sheriff's office says their footage shows their drone "disarm an armed suspect, helping bring the incident to a safe resolution," in their post on Instagram, "rather than rush into a potentially deadly encounter..."
> Was he pretending to be dead or simply lying in wait for deputies to approach...?
>
> It's also worth noting that our drones are labeled as "military equipment" (even though anyone can purchase them at their local Walmart), but are really just another piece of technology helping deputies resolve dangerous situations safely. Their use protects both law enforcement personnel and suspects.
SFGate offers [4]more reports from around California :
> In Yucaipa, officials launched a Drone as First Responder (DFR) pilot program on May 28, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department announced [5]this month . According to the release, drones have already been used to respond to over 100 calls for service, arriving before deputies for 71% of them. "The drones also contributed to 12 arrests, assisted in locating persons of interest on 37 occasions, and provided aerial overwatch during 44 incidents," it continues, though details on how they assisted the police are unclear. The drones, manufactured by Skydio, were also used to locate a young person experiencing a mental health crisis and another person launching illegal fireworks.
[1] https://www.lapdonline.org/drone/
[2] https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/california-police-drone-responders-22315437.php
[3] https://www.instagram.com/reel/DZ4-tdPtbey/
[4] https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/california-police-drone-responders-22315437.php
[5] https://nixle.us/HDYY5?_ga=2.10071797.1527361777.1782136382-1228344719.1778769615
Video in case you don't use Instagram (Score:2)
by Arnonyrnous Covvard ( 7286638 )
[1]https://youtu.be/TYsulVXpgYg?t... [youtu.be]
[1] https://youtu.be/TYsulVXpgYg?t=84
Military Equipment (Score:2)
by PPH ( 736903 )
> even though anyone can purchase them at their local Walmart
For now.
Just watch our state get their panties in a bunch over civilian ownership/operation of drones. Because they can't tell the difference between a Mavic Mini and an MQ-9 Reaper.
So cops are complete cowards now? (Score:2)
by gweihir ( 88907 )
I mean, a man, unmoving on the ground, not responding. Dead or unconscious. And they are still too cowardly to approach? How utterly pathetic and repulsive.
Next suspect will adapt (Score:1)
by Tablizer ( 95088 )
Perp just needs to moisten the gun, [1]wet magnets don't work. [youtube.com]
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvU7FpgDD5A
Re: (Score:1)
by Tablizer ( 95088 )
[1]He said it at least twice, not a fluke. [youtube.com]
[1] https://www.youtube.com/shorts/RAiLs8o5_2w
"Disarm" is doing some heavy lifting here... (Score:3)
...watch the video.
Re: (Score:2)
Or RTFS.
Anyway, LEO drones with tasers are probably less than 2 years away. Ain'tnoway the Trump administration or the Republicans will prevent that from happening. If anything, they'll cheer it on and propose guns mounted on the drones instead.
Re: (Score:2)
Part of Peter Thiel's plan. Replacing the government with a dictator won't matter if he doesn't have something to do, or murderous robots to do it with.
It's not stealing if the owner is decreased, right?
Re: (Score:3)
It worked when the Nazis did it to the Jews.
One of the things that made Germany just suddenly pop off like that is they stole billions of dollars in property from the Jewish people. This gave them the resources to pour into their War machine. While they were doing it they also turned the Jewish people into a slave caste but didn't feed them. Treating them is a resource to be expended for the war effort until, well you know the rest.
The trillionaires to even going to bother with death camps for us. T
Re: (Score:2)
The trillionaires to even going to bother with death camps for us. They will impoverish us so that we can't build technology that could threaten them and then every few years they will have drones bomb us back into the Stone age to make sure we stay there. That is at least what they're planning. So far well their plans are working.
Let me guess. You don't like guns, either?
Re: (Score:3)
Yeah, I would definitely not call that "disarm". It's more like "pick up a metallic object that happened to be resting near the hand of an unconscious person."
Re: "Disarm" is doing some heavy lifting here... (Score:2)
The suspect must have been well out of it if the noise from the drone didn't wake them up. So deeply under, in fact, that there was probably zero risk from them in the first place.
Re: (Score:3)
> ... the drone dangles a magnet which catches on the knife.
> The drone then pulls multiple times until it comes out of the unmoving suspect's hand.
I wonder how long they'd have tried had it been a ceramic knife. :-)
More seriously, TFS says the suspect had been "seen earlier with a firearm" but found sleeping with a knife, so how did this "bring the incident to a safe resolution," so they didn't have to "rush into a potentially deadly encounter"? He could still have had a firearm. All in all, just seems like an opportunity to justify the expenditure on the robot.