Auburn Police used drone technology to help safely arrest four suspects accused of robbing and assaulting a man with a firearm in the city’s southeast neighborhood, authorities said.
The incident began on Wednesday, Oct. 15 when officers were dispatched to the 1500 block of 31st Street SE for a report of an armed robbery.
Police said four masked suspects assaulted a man and threatened him with a gun while trying to steal his property.
Investigators tracked the suspects to a location in the 31700 block of 102nd Ave SE (map below), where they were believed to be hiding. Auburn Police said trained officers deployed a small unmanned aircraft system to gain an aerial view of the property while staying behind cover.
The drone detected two suspects exiting a trailer and confirmed they were not holding weapons. A third suspect was also spotted by the drone attempting to stay hidden after closing the trailer door, police said. Officers remained behind cover and called the suspect out instead of approaching directly.
One suspect was already in custody prior to the trailer search, bringing the total number arrested to four.
“The Auburn Police Department’s trained sUAS pilots regularly use drone technology as an officer-safety and de-escalation tool, helping bring dynamic incidents to safer resolutions for both officers and community members,” police said in a statement.
Video
Below is video from the drone surveillance:
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