Clovis Police utilize drone to assist in arrest of repeat shoplifter

CLOVIS, Calif. (KFSN) -- In its archetypal week of the Drone First Responder program, Clovis Police is already seeing results with its latest crime-fighting instrumentality utilized to drawback criminals.

Just aft 8 a.m. Wednesday, Clovis Police received a telephone astir a theft wrong the Walmart astatine Herndon and Clovis Avenues. The fishy successful this lawsuit was a 19-year-old antheral with a known shoplifting history.

"The fishy astatine Walmart stole a bicycle from wrong the store, which the unit thought helium would and helium took disconnected connected that bike," said Ty Wood, Public Information Officer with Clovis Police.

Clovis Police launched its Drone First Responder (DFR). The craft arrived connected scene, capturing the fishy overhead, each earlier officers arrived.

The drone aviator zeroed successful connected the fishy riding done the parking batch of the Trading Post Shopping Center. You tin spot the drone pursuing the fishy arsenic helium crossed implicit Clovis Avenue earlier constabulary took him into custody.

"Behind different retail businesses and helium would person been mislaid if it weren't for the drone," said Wood.

Clovis Police identified the fishy arsenic Sean Baker. His anterior thefts person banned him from Walmart locations crossed Fresno County. He present faces charges including shoplifting and obstructing an officer.

The country wherever it happens was erstwhile a erstwhile league room, present the Real Time Information Center. A abstraction wherever Clovis Police tin presumption 400 to 500 cameras crossed the city, including drone footage.

RELATED: Clovis Police present utilizing drones arsenic 'first responders'

"They typically alert astatine astir 200 feet and truthful we person a truly bully bird's oculus presumption with the quality to zoom in. These cameras are fantastic," said Wood. "We person the quality to spot licence plates and get carnal descriptions of suspects."

The section has 2 dedicated DFR aircraft, each equipped with a siren and infrared to observe assemblage heat. Despite its occurrence successful its archetypal week, Clovis Police are alert of concerns expressed by immoderate successful the community.

"We recognize the nationalist whitethorn beryllium acrophobic astir their privateness with Big Brother watching and we bash privation to guarantee the assemblage that our drone programme is not utilized for surveillance; it's utilized to respond and respond to calls for service," said Wood.

Clovis Police is uploading each formation wrong 48 hours to its website and mobile app with accusation including the drone's formation way and benignant of work call.

The section stresses the value of afloat transparency with those successful the community.

It volition motorboat a 3rd drone successful the DFR program, expected to instrumentality disconnected adjacent year.

For quality updates, travel Christina Lopez connected Facebook, X and Instagram.