Cleveland is ramping up enforcement for summer safety, but drones are not part of the Mayor’s “Operation Heatwave."
They got the green light from the city council to buy drones two years ago, but the administration didn’t discover a fleet had been ordered until News 5 Investigators started asking questions.
Drones were recently used during an intense standoff in Shaker Heights in the shooting death of Euclid Police Officer Jacob Derbin.
The technology was also used in the dangerous search for the shooting suspect in Euclid.
Police can hone in, making it nearly impossible to hide, especially under the cover of darkness.
Police drones have been in the sky over Cleveland, but Cleveland police are not at the controls.
News 5 Investigators asked Council Safety Committee Chair Mike Polensek if he thought the city was behind the times when it comes to technology.
“Yes. No doubt about it,” Polensek said.
Most police departments surrounding the city of Cleveland have had drone programs for some time, now, Cleveland Public Safety is looking to launch its own program and to use the technology to fight crime citywide.
In a city plagued by carjackings with helicopters often down, police and city leaders have talked about the need for drones for years.
Former Cleveland Police Deputy Chief Harold Pretel discussed drones during a February 2022 budget hearing.
"Using drone technology, the director has been helping us getting a program together,” Pretel said.
City council members expressed the need for drones this year and last.
“I think it’s something we need to look at,” Polensek said in 2023.
“That we can have drones,” Council President Blaine Griffin said earlier this year.
For now, when something goes down in Cleveland, the city asks Parma to come from clear across town with its drone.
“Most people don’t get away,” said Parma Police Sgt. Rick Morgan.
In March, Parma’s drone was used to search Cleveland’s Hough neighborhood for suspected carjackers.
“And the drone went up found em and it was game over,” Sgt. Morgan said.
Parma is among the first police agencies to get drones in Northeast Ohio some eight years ago.
“For us, it’s cost effective we don’t have a helicopter so we have to wait for highway patrol or if Cleveland’s up,” Sgt. Morgan said.
News 5 Investigators asked Sgt. Morgan if he thought a drone was better than having a helicopter.
“Yes. Cause it gets there quicker and it sees the same thing,” Sgt. Morgan said.
Sgt. Morgan says they’re an essential tool to find missing children with autism or the elderly with dementia.
“We can put this thing up and we can have them within minutes,” Sgt. Morgan said.
And even help catch carjackers.
“We can give commands to that person live feed to stop where they’re at,” Sgt. Morgan said.
We asked Sgt. Morgan if a drone could be used for a police chase.
“Yeah, yeah you can. I'm not sure how much use I’m going to be in it than when they get out of the car and run,” Sgt. Morgan said. He says it would be used after the fact.
And with a strong zoom feature, Parma doesn’t need to take its drone very far.
Sgt. Morgan demonstrated how you can see the Terminal Tower from the air while directly over the Parma Police parking lot.
“If there’s any issues in Cleveland and Cleveland’s like hey we need to check out something real quick this is a cloudy day you’re seeing what I’m seeing that’s a pretty darn good view for 400 feet in the air,” Sgt. Morgan said.
Just weeks ago, News 5 Investigators asked Cleveland police about its drone program and they initially said they didn’t have one. It surprised us because we had an invoice through a public records request showing more than $255,000 was spent on drones, equipment and training.
Polensek told us as far as he knew, the purchase was made.
In February, there was a shakeup in Cleveland Public Safety. Director Karrie Howard resigned and Police Chief Wayne Drummond took over.
The same week, Howard ordered the drones.
Nine of them, according to a city spokesperson through a law enforcement grant.
News 5 Investigators asked Polensek if he thought whether Drummond was trying to play catch up because the purchase was under Howard’s administration.
“There’s a lot of catch up a lot of catching up around here,” Polensek said.
The city says after Howard’s resignation, they discovered the order and that he never drafted a formal drone policy.
Since we put this on their radar, public safety says it’s researching how to best launch a drone program.
“I don’t care who purchased the equipment, if we have it how’s it being utilized,” Polensek said.
During a news conference about the Mayor’s summer safety plan, Director Drummond said they’re going to slow-walk the drone program.
Drummond said they want to make sure they have the best policies in place and that people who live in Cleveland are comfortable with the technology.
