At one time in 2024 a person pulled a knife on another individual and then tried to elude capture by barricading himself in a residence.

It was a tricky situation that could have led to someone getting hurt.

But Woodland police had a quick solution: They broke a window and piloted a small aerial drone into the home and used its speaker to order the man out. The suspect surrendered to the drone and walked out the front door followed by the drone.

Problem solved and no one hurt.

That’s one of many stories in a Military Use Report for the Woodland Police Department presented to the City Council, which also approved around $22,500 for two new aerial drones as well as supporting equipment like batteries and searchlights.

In the report last Tuesday, Deputy Chief Dallas Hyde, and sergeants Jason Drobish and Ryan Bowler detailed how drones are almost standard issue for each patrol unit.

The 26-page report is posted on the Woodland Police Department’s website and breaks down the number of times “military hardware” was used throughout 2024 with brief narratives of individual incidents as well as the cost of the equipment and cost of deploying police.

Included are the specific devices used, such as smoke grenades and cannisters, types of weapons and training.

In general, the report states there were a 15 Yolo County “Regional SWAT Operations” in 2024 with approximately $32,000 in personnel overtime cost some of which involved drones or other military equipment such as the department’s armored vehicle purchased several years ago from the city of Davis.But it was the increasing use of aerial drones that drew the most comments from not only police staff but the council.

Drobish and Bowler head special field operations and SWAT as well as the HOST program and crime teams, respectively, in addition to other programs in the department and said drones are helping deescalate potentially dangerous situations to both officers and suspects.

Bowler told the council that, “in every tactical scenario the drones are the first that go into a dwelling or onto property for officer safety and de-escalation.”

Referring to the knife-welding suspect, Bowler said the incident ended peacefully and no force was used with Hyde adding that drones have now been used to find missing persons, and tracking down people trying to run away from police.

They have, in effect, he said, “become a force multiplier where suspects surrender peacefully.”

Unlike private drone operators, police need to receive specific types of training with “pilots” having to go through Federal Aviation Administration courses, some of which are “self-paced” that require the use of aeronautical maps as well as knowing the type of air space.

“Even flying where we can’t see the drone is regulated by the FAA,” Bowler told the council.

In response to a question from Mayor Rich Lansburgh about whether drones are available for patrol officers or used only in special situations, Bowler said they are used on patrol with one “big use being to help businesses” — especially in the industrial area.

“We’ll get alarm calls at night and can’t get hold of the responsible parties,” he recounted, which means police can’t see or get through a fenced- or closed-off area. Previously, officers could only write up an incident report. Now, they can use a drone “to fly over the property using lights or infrared lights, to see what’s going on and to arrest someone if necessary.”

Lansburgh also asked how fast a drone operator can get to a scene of a suspected crime and both Bowler and Drobish said it could be a matter of minutes. If a person jumps over a wall and gets into a neighborhood, for example, the drone can locate the individual more quickly vs. a SWAT team which might take 30 minutes or more to arrive.

Indeed, the report noted there were 174 flights or missions throughout 2024 with 15 individual narratives of specific events — mainly involving those sought on active “high-risk warrants,” where guns or other weapons were involved; or “active callouts” that required officers from multiple cities as well as police dogs.

In many cases, suspects holed-up in residences were located by a drone, or a drone was used to search the interior of a home to see if anyone was inside. In other police actions, drones were used in conjunction with officers to search the tops of buildings or backyards.

Assembly Bill 481, enacted in 2021, requires law enforcement agencies in California to obtain approval from their governing body for the acquisition and use of military equipment. It also mandates annual reporting on the use, deployment, cost, and complaints associated with such equipment, including any intended acquisitions for the upcoming year.

This is the Woodland Police Department’s third annual report submitted under AB 481 and it also showed there were no complaints.