Drone as a First Responder (DFR) TacTips #3: Vehicle Pursuits - Part 2
The short version: Paladin's training video coaches police drone pilots on tracking high-speed chases from altitude, another sign DFR programs are scaling up with little public scrutiny.
Our Take
This one's straight from the vendor: Paladin, a drone-as-first-responder (DFR) company, walking its law enforcement customers through the finer points of tailing a fleeing car by air — fly high, zoom smart, radio it in. Credit to Paladin for putting the training out in public, but it's worth remembering these tutorials exist to sell departments on standing up permanent drone fleets, not just to help in a one-off chase.
DFR units don't operate in a vacuum. They're increasingly stitched into the same surveillance stack as Flock's ALPR cameras — one system flags the plate, the other launches an eye in the sky to follow it, and together they create a tracking net that never needs a warrant to start watching. Departments pitch this as pursuit safety, but the underlying capability — a drone that can loiter over your street, zoom into your yard, and follow your car block by block — sticks around long after the 'first responder' justification fades.
None of this gets debated with the public before it's bought and flown. If your town is quietly adding drones to its Flock camera network, check our map to see what's already watching your streets, and hit up take-action for ways to push back before flyovers become routine.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of Paladin, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.