Milwaukee 'Drone as First Responder' pilot program launched

MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman announced on Wednesday, Jan. 14, the launch of the city's "Drone as First Responder" (DFR) pilot program.

DFR program

What we know:

A news release says DFR is a police response strategy which utilizes pre-positioned drones launched from stationary launch points to enable rapid deployment to calls for police service, often prior to uniformed squad response, in order to enhance civilian and officer safety by increasing situational awareness.

The drones are operated by a Remote Pilot In Command (RPIC) that is stationed in the DFR command center. RPICs monitor the calls for service and launch the drones to the scene to assist and provide vital information to the responding officers.  

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"The vehicle ascends to 200ft and flies directly to whatever incident it's responding to. As we approach those scenes, we go into a free look," said Milwaukee Police Sgt. Chris Boss. "Imagine we were responding to a robbery. We would be looking for a suspect at that point. Upon arrival, we're essentially covering our officers as they respond, and they are getting information about what they're responding to. That's that critical piece of situational awareness that allows us to, to operate as safely as possible in the interest of the public and in the interest of officers themselves. At the conclusion of any specific operation, the drone returns to the dock and lands."

Right now, DFR docks are located at Milwaukee Police District Seven and respond to calls in districts three, five and seven.  

What they're saying:

"We have learned that seconds truly do matter. The goal is to reach the incident, to respond as quickly as possible so that we can make better, more informed decisions and ultimately protect the public that we serve, our officers, and anyone else who might be involved in any ongoing incident," said Sgt. Boss. 

"We're the first in Wisconsin to roll this out. We also are part of a small group across the nation of 50 other cities who are using this technology for the purpose of public safety," said Milwaukee Police Chief Jeffrey Norman. 

Right now, Milwaukee police have three DFRs docked. Officials noted they are always looking for possible expansion.

"We understand that there is a lot of responsibility to this particular type of tool, and which is why we're having this discussion to ensure that the public understands we take this seriously," Chief Norman said. "We are about transparency. We are about leaning in and using technology in a way that not only can help safety for our officers, but also for our community." 

MPD drone program

Previously, Milwaukee police launched its drone team in summer 2024, ahead of the Republican National Convention. MPD policies said drones could be used for things like: 

• Land and water searches/rescues
• Port security
• Active threats
• Event management for protests/street takeovers
• Evidence collection and crash reconstruction
• Support of patrol operations with team commander approval (foot pursuits, warrant services, shots-fired complaints)

As of March 2025, city documents showed MPD owned eight drones and had plans to buy more for field-testing and patrol operations. Documents said the police department paid for the drones with what was seized from suspected criminals.

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MPD's Airborne Assessment Team had one full-time member and one part-time member in March. A Milwaukee Fire and Police Commission document from that month said the plan was to grow to four full-time pilots and possibly 14 more patrol officers on secondary flight duties.