The Path to Drone as First Responder: Scaling Drone Programs for Public Safety Agencies

William "Fritz" Reber retired as a Police Captain after 27 years of service with Chula Vista Police Department. After his retirement he worked with public safety and service providers related to UAS operations. He (with Kabe Termes) was the visionary behind Drone as First Responder (DFR) Operations and Live911, author of CVPD's Concept of Operations IPP submission, and co-authored the CVPD BVLOS waiver. This was the first FAA Beyond Visual Line of Sight waiver for any public safety agency operating in an urban environment in the nation). He and his Skydio Team, in partnership with CVPD and the San Diego IPP Team wrote the safety case for and obtained the groundbreaking Tactical BVLOS waiver. This enabled Close Proximity, Low Altitude (CPLA) operations for Public Safety Agencies and others to safely fly BVLOS during ground based tactical deployments.

Fritz remains a part of the San Diego City IPP Team, is a DRONERESPONDERS Technical Expert (TEP), and he continues to work closely with CVPD and public safety agencies everywhere on the integration of Skydio 2 into everyday police operations. He is the visionary and co-inventor w/Higherground, of Live911.

Live911 is a revolutionary software tool that allows first responders to hear in real time the actual audio of the incoming 911 call. It has been integrated with RapidSOs and provides a map UI for first responders who can hear the call and see the exact caller location instantly while in the field. Never before has public safety had such real-time situational awareness sent to the front lines without any time delay or data decay.

Head of Public Safety Integration at Skydio:

Fritz works to show Public Safety Agencies the value of a drone that is designed not to crash. The transformational object avoidance technology of Skydio means that more people can utilize the power of a UAS to provide situational awareness and decision quality data to first responders in the field. The feedback and input he gets from end-users is used in product improvements and development with the goal to help make Skydio the best drone company in the world.

Noreen Charlton has a Bachelor of Science in Biology from John Carroll University in Cleveland, Ohio. For more than a decade, she worked in the Crime Scene Investigations section of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department in Las Vegas, Nevada. Throughout her time in the field, she responded to nearly 4,000 scenes, including the Route 91 Harvest Festival mass casualty shooting. For several years, she has focused on the instruction and implementation of 3D technologies for public safety applications and has assisted with the documentation and forensic analysis of many high-profile cases. As a member of the Crime Scene Investigations Body of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences Standards Board, she actively contributes to the development and advancement of industry standards in crime scene investigations.