County’s Special Response Team has upgraded drones, tactical equipment
‘This is a game-changer for us’ – SWAT commander Torry Tooley
Photos by Tom Rivers
ALBION – Orleans County’s Special Response Team did a demonstration on Tuesday evening at the Tavern on the Ridge, showcasing some of its tools and equipment including this drone.
The team includes nine members from the Sheriff’s Office and seven from the Albion Police Department. The team has several drones, including this one that is used to fly inside a house or other structure. The drone can be used to locate people and provide officers with a layout of the building.
The drone takes off inside the Tavern on the Ridge, looking for a suspect as part of the demonstration for the Orleans County Association of Municipalities, which includes officials from local village, town and the county governments.
Investigator Brian Marsceill of the Sheriff’s Office served as the pilot of the drone, guiding it through the hallway and around the restaurant to locate the suspect.
The Special Response Team moves in to locate the person. It was all part of a demonstration for local officials.
The Special Response Team is run through the Orleans County Sheriff’s Office. The team operates on a $300,000 budget which goes to training, equipment and overtime costs.
Investigator Kevin Colonna, left, and Sgt. Torry Tooley show the screen that law enforcement see from one of the drones. Colonna is a certified pilot for the drones. Tooley is the commander of the Special Response Team.
They noted how the drones helped locate someone who stole items and fled from Walmart last week, first on a bike and then by foot.
That person was detected lying down north of Walmart along Gaines Basin Road. Officers were able to quickly find him with the drones.
The team has drones that can spot people at night through the heat detection and spotlights on the drone. Officers can give commands through the drones to people on the ground or in a house, telling them to surrender, stay put or give other commands.
One of the team’s drones can travel as far as 6 miles, and go up to 50 miles an hour.
Officers can get a live feed from the drones through their phones or the computers in their patrol cars.
The drones are very useful in locating suspects, but Tooley said they also can be used for missing people, including vulnerable elderly people or people with autism and disabilities.
Lt. Adam Hazel of the Sheriff’s Office and Sgt. Torry Tooley show the local officials some of the tools for the Special Response Team including body armor, helmets with night lights, vision monoculars to see in the dark, a 40 mm gun that fires non-lethal bullets, door breaching tools (ram and Halogen tool), as well as several of the different drones.
Tooley said the new drones and night vision on the helmets are “a game-changer for us.”
The team is awaiting a Bearcat armored vehicle to be used on scene for some of the calls. That armored vehicle will be able to transport 10-12 people to high-risk situations requiring advanced tactics and coordination.
