The South Berwick Police Department will be buying a drone for use in emergencies, at a cost of $11,000 plus the price of annual software.
The Town Council last week approved the purchase of an “unmanned aerial vehicle,” or drone. The Police Department is legally required by the state to get council approval to buy a drone, according to Police Chief David Ruger, who described its use at the council meeting Sept. 10.
The device will be used in emergencies and “will not be used to ‘spy’ on law-abiding citizens of this community,” Ruger said.
A drone was useful, for instance, during a train fire in Berwick in August when the rear engine and another train car caught on fire, he said. A drone owned by York County and flown by Officer Eric Bourn of the South Berwick Police Department located the two cars.
The crew disconnected the two cars while the train continued away from the fire, which was quickly extinguished so it could not spread into nearby woods.
The use of drones also has become a “necessity” to prevent the ambush of police officers during critical incidents, said Ruger, as they provide ground level surveillance before a responder walks into a situation.
And drones with thermal imaging are useful in finding people lost in the woods, especially in cold weather, he noted.
The DJI Matrice 30T model the Police Department plans to purchase is equipped with wide, zoom and thermal cameras and a laser rangefinder, according to the DJI website.
Bourn, who accompanied Ruger to the council meeting, is the only South Berwick officer FAA-certified to fly the drone. The plan is to train another officer so a back-up flyer is available when one is off-duty.
The choice between a brand new or “open box” device was ultimately decided by the council in favor of new. Open-box refers to an item that has been opened and returned, but is still in new or near-new condition.
The Matrice 30T model police first considered was an open-box item that costs $7,769, with the option to purchase a one-year warranty for $695 for a total of $8,464. The cost of that drone and $1,000 to $3,000 per year for its software could be covered by the department’s equipment budget, Ruger said.
A brand new unopened drone, for $11,051, would come with a replacement warranty at no additional cost and cover replacement regardless of cause, including operator error, said Bourn, and the warranty could be for one or two years.
The Police Department’s choice of an open box device was due to budgetary restraints, Ruger told the council in response to a question.
Councilor John James suggested open-box items can be problematic, and asked Town Manager Tim Pellerin if the town could help make up the deficit since a new one offered better warranty coverage at no extra cost.
Pellerin said the town would work with the Police Department to cover the additional cost of a new device.
