Oakland County Sheriff’s Office’s drone responder program played a role in apprehending an armed suspect this week, the office said in a press release Friday.
At about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, the Oakland County Emergency Communications Center received a call that a man wearing camouflage clothing and carrying a long rifle and a handgun had entered a wooded area near a domestic violence shelter in Pontiac.
Drone operators located the suspect, confirmed he was armed, guided deputies to his location and provided “situational awareness” for deputies to approach safely, the release said.
The suspect, 21-year-old Joseph Edward Smith of Pontiac, was arrested without incident. He was arraigned in Pontiac’s 50th District Court Friday on charges of carrying a concealed weapon and reckless discharge of a firearm.
An attorney was not listed for Smith in online court records.
“This is one more poignant example of how our DFR program dramatically increases the safety and response to emergency incidents,” Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said in the release.
“The ability to rapidly locate an armed individual, provide real-time intelligence to responding deputies, and help bring the situation to a peaceful conclusion protects both the public and our first responders,” Bouchard said.
satwood@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Oakland County drone program helps arrest armed man
Reporting by Sarah Atwood, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
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