Police drone tracks Walmart theft suspect in real time (abcnews.go.com)
from NarrativeBear@lemmy.world to privacy@lemmy.ml on 28 Sep 06:35
https://lemmy.world/post/36576318

A California police department’s drone program helped officers track down and arrest a suspected repeat shoplifter who attempted to flee on a stolen bicycle Tuesday morning and might otherwise have gotten away, officials said.

The incident happed at a Walmart in Clovis, California, where police were called just after 8 a.m. for a known shoplifting suspect. The department’s “Drone First Responder” (DFR) program proved crucial in the arrest, officials said.

“The suspect at Walmart stole a bicycle from inside the store, which the staff thought he would, and he took off on that bike,” Clovis Police Public Information Officer Ty Wood told ABC News Fresno station.

The suspect, identified by police as 19-year-old Sean Baker, was tracked by the drone as he crossed a nearby street. He now faces charges including shoplifting, possession of burglary tools and obstructing an officer, according to police.

The police spokesperson told ABC News that the department’s DFR program currently operates two drones, which can cover more than 90% of community. The department has already ordered a third drone for next year, the spokesperson said.

“We realize that drones are not going to be taking the place of a law enforcement helicopter, but with a city our size, we can’t afford a helicopter. These drone first responders are definitely a game changer,” the spokesperson told ABC News.

The drones, which typically fly at 200 feet, are equipped with advanced camera systems.

“These cameras are fantastic,” Wood told ABC30. “We have the ability to see license plates and get physical descriptions of suspects.”

A key advantage of the program is the drones’ ability to arrive at scenes before officers. The spokesperson said responding officers can view live drone footage from their patrol car computers while en route to calls.

The suspect “went behind other retail businesses and he would have been lost if it weren’t for the drone,” Wood told ABC30.

The department, which serves a community of over 129,000 residents, launched its drone program in 2020, according to the spokesperson. The initiative has since become an important part of the department’s Real Time Information Center (RTIC), which combines various surveillance systems used for public safety.

#privacy

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merde@sh.itjust.works on 28 Sep 07:24 next collapse

The department, which serves a community of over 129,000 residents, launched its drone program in 2020,

no amount is too much for catching a bike thief /s

5 years of “drone program” for a community of 129000. They can sleep better now that the “suspected shop lifter” is at last arrested 🤷 those police toys must have been expensive, if they’re making news about this

StellarExtract@lemmy.zip on 28 Sep 07:25 next collapse

Sure am glad we have police robots in the sky to protect us from 19 year old kids stealing stuff from Walmart

pika@lemmy.today on 28 Sep 20:06 next collapse

Hey, this is 2025; you forgot your /s…I hope.

pdxfed@lemmy.world on 28 Sep 22:01 collapse

It would be a shame if policing focused on billions and trillions being stolen by corrupt corps, crypto scammers and flagrant law violaters of the upper class. But no, policing only for poor

unconsequential@slrpnk.net on 28 Sep 09:26 next collapse

Gotta protect those corporations first and foremost. I’m so glad Walmart will be OK after this. Thank you officers! Walmart can sleep safe tonight knowing justice has been served.

itztalal@lemmings.world on 28 Sep 15:18 next collapse

This might sound weird, but it’s more about maintaining order.

prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone on 28 Sep 15:58 next collapse

You are absolutely correct.

That does sound weird.

unconsequential@slrpnk.net on 28 Sep 19:51 next collapse

Ah, yes, I forget, if we don’t use excessive force and militarized police resources on shoplifters our entire society will surely crumble. They sure showed me! Glad they could use my tax dollars to hunt people like animals rather than improve quality of life for our citizens. Who needs affordable shelter and healthcare anyway. Without cops on every corner we will surely fall to chaos.

[deleted] on 28 Sep 19:52 collapse

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interdimensionalmeme@lemmy.ml on 29 Sep 00:35 next collapse

Of course, maintain the hierarchy of capital which sees most humans as serving the hierarchy and terminating those who defy “the order” for “their own good” of course, because as the central tenets of this religion asserts, exploitation of capital benefits “everyone”. As in, this meritocracy structure allows anyone to become King Bezos through “hard work”(*).

Since anyone could become king meritocatically, therefore they all benefit from the equal and just potential, to receive “each according to their needs and from each according to their ability” anyone who opposes this system in fact opposes their own interests and those of other, therefore justifying the deployment of unlimited violence to neutralize the threat, for everyone’s interests including the perpetrator.

ganymede@lemmy.ml on 29 Sep 04:12 collapse

can you pls explain what you mean in more depth?

your original post is sufficiently vague that tbh i don’t blame people for assuming you were just bootlicking? [which probably says more about the state of the world than you as an individual, but honestly it’s not clear what you’re trying to say?]

we all know a random citizen/local business presenting an identical calibre of evidence of repeated crimes would be extremely unlikely to routinely receive this degree of resource allocation.

so if it’s an idealised aspirational universal “order” you’re talking about then obviously noone’s buying it - and i don’t think you are either. so what do you mean?

[deleted] on 29 Sep 10:21 collapse

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Kongar@lemmy.dbzer0.com on 28 Sep 15:40 next collapse

Imagine if we put as much effort into arresting pedophile politicians and priests.

DieserTypMatthias@lemmy.ml on 28 Sep 16:23 collapse

It won’t happen.

interdimensionalmeme@lemmy.ml on 29 Sep 00:30 collapse

Ok, we need to ally with Russia to topple/flatten the states supporting chat control and feed their politicians to a very large blender

mnemonicmonkeys@sh.itjust.works on 29 Sep 01:01 collapse

Ok, we need to ally with Russia

Yikes…

interdimensionalmeme@lemmy.ml on 29 Sep 01:11 collapse

Or they can give up chat control right now, they can give up that BS a-n-y-t-i-m-e

But if not, then taking out Russia and mildly inconveniencing states that are developping an authoritarian bent in their digital space, that’s a win-win

mnemonicmonkeys@sh.itjust.works on 29 Sep 18:17 collapse

My point is that you’re arguing that Russia (which is currently ruled by a genocidal, authoritarian regime and is trying to force all of its citizens onto state-controlled social media to monitor everyone) would be a good ally in the fight to keep E2EE alive.

The amount of cognitive dissonance in your comments is disturbing

interdimensionalmeme@lemmy.ml on 29 Sep 23:01 collapse

The only counter we currently have to state power is leveraging other states, getting them to fight one another until they’re so damage that they let go of their fascistic plans to enslave and tag the entire population. Russia isn’t going to politely send delegate to advocate against total state surveillance, they’re doing it, every state is turning fasch and doing it. They are to embolden, to empowered and they don’t respect of fear the population.

The only way to counter this trend is by distracting them with an existential crisis. They need “something” to save us from, when we are too safe and they are too powerful, they start treating us, as the enemy, as their pets, as their farm animal, cattle, we can’t stop them doing that but we can send them to clash against enemy states to dissipate their violent, dominating, malignant energy

prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone on 28 Sep 15:58 collapse

Police exist to protect capital, not people.

grue@lemmy.world on 28 Sep 09:51 next collapse

<img alt="" src="https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/69faeb57-2e2f-40da-b213-304530a93f58.jpeg">

UltraGiGaGigantic@lemmy.ml on 28 Sep 10:54 next collapse

Please pick up the verification can.

AtariDump@lemmy.world on 28 Sep 19:43 collapse

<img alt="" src="https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/56820974-2e24-4265-b641-de3b8647cbaf.jpeg">

rcbrk@lemmy.ml on 28 Sep 15:47 collapse

<img alt="Max (played by Jessica Alba) “surfing” a seattle police drone in dystopian tv series Dark Angel" src="https://lemmy.ml/pictrs/image/f17fd92e-e582-45fa-9688-76483158482e.jpeg">

SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone on 28 Sep 08:11 next collapse

<img alt="" src="https://files.catbox.moe/u3o241.mp4">

edgyspazkid@lemmy.wtf on 28 Sep 11:40 collapse

It this from new season of Gumball?

SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone on 28 Sep 13:51 collapse

Yes.

Sir_Kevin@lemmy.dbzer0.com on 28 Sep 14:52 next collapse

Officers can view live drone footage from their patrol car computers…

Interesting. I wonder who else can view that live video stream.

ReverendIrreverence@lemmy.ml on 28 Sep 19:35 collapse

Yes, that sounds safe, looking at video on your laptop while driving to the scene of a crime

MML@sh.itjust.works on 28 Sep 19:54 collapse

They ride doubled up almost exclusively in LA ,think they would do the same in Fresno, also you can look at it while parked

ReverendIrreverence@lemmy.ml on 29 Sep 20:38 collapse

Yes, “you can look at it while parked” but the spokesperson specifically said:

“responding officers can view live drone footage from their patrol car computers while en route to calls.

MML@sh.itjust.works on 29 Sep 21:00 collapse

True, I upvoted you for this and your previous comment, I would hope they would use common sense and the availability of other officers, but the footage of things like them firing through windshields and other videos I’ve seen does leave me concerned.

_druid@sh.itjust.works on 28 Sep 23:58 next collapse

I can’t wait to have my vehicle remotely disabled by a police drone for rolling through a stop sign at 1:30am.

[deleted] on 29 Sep 19:34 collapse

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xylogx@lemmy.world on 29 Sep 12:10 next collapse

How do you steal an ebike? Did he hide it in his bag of holding?

cupcakezealot@piefed.blahaj.zone on 29 Sep 20:39 next collapse

stealing from walmart is not a crime

freedickpics@lemmy.ml on 01 Oct 02:28 collapse

Friendly reminder police in the US are legally allowed to steal money and possessions from you