Police in Southern California successfully tracked down and arrested an electric bike rider after deploying advanced drone technology during a high-speed pursuit through city streets.
According to the Redlands Police Department, the suspect was riding recklessly through Redlands, running stop signs and driving on the wrong side of the road before attempting to flee officers who tried to stop him.
Rather than ending the pursuit immediately, the suspect allegedly accelerated away on the E-bike, leading officers on a chase through residential neighborhoods as police attempted to track his movements.
That’s when the department activated its Drone First Responder program, known as Mav-1DFR, which officers credited with helping secure the department’s first drone-assisted arrest.
Footage released by police showed the drone monitoring the suspect from roughly 200 feet above the ground as he moved through streets and eventually attempted to hide inside a residence after concealing the E-bike.
“Our eye in the sky arrived in the area and wasn’t about to let this high-voltage pursuit end in a vanishing act,” the department said in a social media post announcing the arrest.
Police said the drone continuously tracked the suspect’s location while officers on the ground moved into position around the home. The aerial footage reportedly allowed officers to coordinate the arrest without losing sight of the suspect during the chase.
The department later said officers successfully convinced the suspect to exit the residence peacefully and surrender. He was taken into custody without further incident, while the E-bike was impounded and sent to a tow yard.
The Redlands Police Department leaned into humor while highlighting the success of the technology, joking online that fleeing suspects may want to reconsider trying to outrun police in a city equipped with advanced aerial surveillance tools.
“If you’re going to evade the law,” the department wrote, “maybe don’t do it in a city that has the coolest drones responding from above.”
The arrest marks another example of law enforcement agencies increasingly turning to drone programs for surveillance, suspect tracking, and emergency response operations as departments across the country expand the use of high-tech policing tools.
The post California Police Use Drone Technology To Catch E-Bike Suspect After Wild Chase appeared first on Real News Now.
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