From the Putnam County OH Sheriffs Office Facebook page:
We are proud to finally present a new piece of technology we have available to protect and serve the citizens of Putnam County. The Putnam County Commissioners have graciously agreed to purchase an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) or “drone”. This drone, a DJI Inspire 1, has several uses, not limited to the Sheriff’s Office. It can, and already has in some cases, be used for drug investigations, search and rescue for missing subjects, criminal pursuit, crash scene documentation, and storm and flood assessments. With this drone comes an even bigger, high quality piece of technology, a thermal imaging camera. Our top-of-the-line thermal camera means we are not limited to daytime use. The picture of the deer is an example of what this camera can show, and the other black and white pictures are ones we took while showing the commissioners during the day.
This tool has the great potential to save lives and protect the lives of our deputies, from locating missing elderly persons or children, to locating criminals eluding officers, to scoping out potentially dangerous scenes before putting humans in the area and at risk.
The main purpose of this new tool is to protect you and the community. We understand privacy may be concern. We completely understand. We take your privacy very seriously and will take every step possible to use this drone responsibly. Each deployment is documented on paper and with our dispatch center for accountability. Our drone pilot has become a FAA Part 107 certified Remote Pilot and has been trained to follow FAA regulations as well.
Again, a big thank you goes to our county commissioners for allowing us to embrace this evolving technology.