A Santa Ana police response involved a vehicle, a firearm pulled from the car, and questions still open about a second person witnesses say ran from the scene.
According to the Santa Ana Police Department, the department's Eagle-1 drone unit, flying under the callsign #31EAGLE, has been used in police responses. Investigators determined the vehicle involved was an unreported stolen car out of the city of Orange, and officers recovered a firearm from inside it.
Witnesses at the scene told police they saw two people flee from the vehicle and said they overheard the fleeing pair talking about a gun before officers arrived. It remains unclear whether the second person described by witnesses has since been identified or located.
Eagle-1's Growing Track Record
Eagle-1's Growing Track Record This is not the first time Santa Ana's aerial drone has steered officers straight to a suspect. Just weeks earlier, in August, the department used Eagle-1 on 1st Street to locate a stolen commercial work truck and guide ground officers to two suspects who were caught loading stolen property into it, according to Officer.com.
The Eagle-1 program traces back to a Santa Ana City Council vote in February that formally approved a Drone as a First Responder initiative for the police department. The council authorized a three-year contract worth up to $682,900 to deploy five drones, including Eagle-1.
A Stolen Car That Crossed City Lines
The vehicle at the center of Friday's incident had been reported stolen in Orange, not Santa Ana.
Details of the Vehicle
The reported allegations involved a vehicle identified as stolen and a firearm recovered from inside it.
Recent Santa Ana cases involving drone-assisted policing include a bicycle robbery suspect nabbed by drone last month. It also follows closely on the heels of a separate Santa Ana property crime case, the theft of a bronze Jesus statue from a local church, underscoring how frequently the department has leaned on aerial surveillance amid an active stretch of property crime investigations.
