Almost $5.7 million is big money, but many residents would agree that it’s an excellent investment for maintaining Gate City public safety. If Nashua’s Board of Aldermen gives the thumbs-up to this 5-year contract in September, the Nashua Police Department (NPD) believes the new, sophisticated equipment would strengthen its ability to serve our city.
NPD already uses body-worn cameras, but technology advances rapidly, and the department is seeking to purchase the Axon OSP 10 Premium Hardware/Software bundle for Body-Worn, Fleet and Interview Room Cameras and Digital Evidence Platform. These days, it’s all about modern policing, and what intrigues me about the high-tech system is the new drone capabilities Nashua would also use in law enforcement.
Nashua Police Captain Brian Trefry recently explained to the Aldermanic Finance Committee how the Drone-as-First-Responder (DFR) setup would work, including drones docked on three rooftops that could cover much of the city. It’s a fully wired, autonomous operation that gives police an eye from the sky (200 ft. high) that humans don’t possess.
“We’d strategically locate a dock in the south end of Nashua, such as the Spit Brook Road Fire Station, another dock on the roof of the Nashua Police Department building on James Roche Drive, and one in the north end of the city, such as the Amherst Street Fire Station or somewhere similar.”
Trefry cited the Sky Meadow Country Club shooting as an example; it occurred almost a year ago, on Sept. 20. Here’s a little background on the crime:
Hunter Nadeau, 24, allegedly opened fire inside the venue, killing Robert DeCesare, 59, of Nashua, who was dining with his family. He also wounded Steve Burtman (Lowell) and Brianna Surette (Georgetown). Jury selection has been scheduled to begin on June 15, 2027, in Nadeau’s first-degree (and reckless second-degree) murder trial. He’s pleaded not guilty and remains behind bars. Under New Hampshire law, if convicted, he could face up to life without parole.
Nadeau, a former Sky Meadow employee, was arrested 30 minutes after the shooting. According to unsealed police records, after the murders, Nadeau ditched his backpack in nearby woods, walked out onto the golf course and slit his wrists there because he wanted to die. He allegedly confessed to the shootings to Nashua Police.
As the 911 calls came in about an active shooter, Trefry says that a dispatcher now would hit “launch,” and a drone would fly over to Sky Meadow in under a minute. The technology would give police real-time intelligence on what was happening on the ground before responding officers arrived.
The drone would record the suspect fleeing out the rear of the establishment and follow him via infrared thermal imaging, directing officers to his precise location. Footage from drone flights is streamed back to the police dispatch center, where it can be stored, shared and analyzed like other video.
Police departments of all sizes in rural and urban communities across the United States are interested in launching their own DFR programs after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved the expansion of aerial surveillance and data collection last February. According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, “The new FAA process for waivers and the rush of police departments to obtain them signifies a shift in law enforcement’s use of drones: from human-operated aerial surveillance to AI-based autonomous drone use.”
Will the city of Nashua let a Drone-as-First-Responder program fly?
In today’s world, we’d be remiss not to.
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