SMPD Drones Used As First Responders To 911 Calls: Report

SANTA MONICA, CA — In Santa Monica, when a crime is reported to local police there is a chance that the first responder on the scene could be a drone.

The Santa Monica Police Department utilizes drones to survey scenes before officers arrive, which helps inform police if suspects are armed or if a scene is dangerous, officer Peter Lashley told NBC News.

More than once, Lashley said, the drones informed officers on the way to a scene that the guns in the hands of suspects weren't real. With that information, officers were able to respond to the incidents less aggressively.

As part of the "drones as a first responder program," departments don't use drones to patrol neighborhoods looking for crime. The drones are only used to respond to 911 calls over service and don't record video over private areas.

Video recorded by the drones is destroyed after 60 days unless used as evidence in an investigation and police said they have informally shown footage to anyone who expressed concern. However, State departments have said the video is not releasable under public records laws unlike body-worn camera footage.

Read more from NBC News: In this beach town, sometimes the first cop on the scene is a drone