Mount Lebanon police use drone program to arrest suspect

MOUNT LEBANON, Pa. — Mount Lebanon’s Police Chief, Jason Haberman says the department, in collaboration with several South Hills communities, is utilizing drones to help with public safety.  He highlighted a recent case where his department assisted South Park Township, in arresting a man wanted for burglary and a domestic incident.

Chief Haberman showed us the drone footage. You can see a man, down on his stomach, hiding in thick brush. From hundreds of feet above, a Mount Lebanon police officer is operating a drone, following the suspect’s every move.

Mount Lebanon has had drones for the past several years, but more recently, in the last few months, they’ve developed a South Hills area drone team as part of SHACOG, South Hills Area Council of Government.

Chief Haberman says his sergeant has a drone on one end of the potential crime scene, while a South Park Township officer was on the other end.

“They deployed their drones tactically,” Chief Haberman said. “It was really great teamwork.”

Together, they had a wide view of the scene and were able to narrow in on the suspect’s location.

“He was attempting to elude officers in a number of ways,” Chief Haberman said. “He was running away, kept hiding in different spots.”

At one point, you can see the suspect get up and run, jumping over one fence, then another, like hurdles, before sprinting across the road.  In clear infrared footage, taken during daylight, the suspect is taken into custody, and nobody was hurt.

These drones can be used in many different ways, including finding missing people - such as those at special risk or the disabled or elderly. They can also help with surveillance for SWAT incidents. Chief Haberman says they’re just scratching the surface of what they can do with drone technology.

“This technology saves lives,” Chief Haberman said. “It saves officers lives. It allows us to have a force multiplier without deploying a number of officers at a time when we can get more situational awareness. It’s critical to what we do.”

Chief Haberman says this program is all about collaboration. He says he’s looking forward to seeing what applications these drones have in five to 10 years that can help with public safety.

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