High-tech policing: Boulder officers use drones and cameras to nab car theft suspect

By Aliyah Sims | FOX31 Denver

BOULDER, Colo. (KDVR) — Technology and teamwork came together in Boulder to stop a dangerous suspect: Officers had an edge thanks to drones and license plate recognition cameras, also known as Flock cameras.

All it took was a tip from technology, a drone in the air and quick thinking on the ground.

This case was interesting because we wouldn’t have ever known this guy was in Boulder,” Chief Stephen Redfearn said. “The truck was stolen from outside of Boulder. The license plate readers let us know he was here. It allowed officers to kind of narrow down where he was.”

The stolen red pickup truck pulled into a Boulder parking lot, with the driver asleep behind the wheel. Within seconds, an officer on the Unmanned Aircraft System Team launched a drone to the scene.

“Units got into the area, located the vehicle parked behind an apartment complex,” said Officer Richard Steidel, who piloted the drone. “I requested the drone to come out. I launched the drone, responded to the scene in approximately one to two minutes, put eyes on the vehicle, identified the driver sitting in the driver’s seat with the door open.”

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