Bellevue police will begin flying drones to emergency scenes this fall under a one-year pilot program that puts an aircraft over an incident before officers or firefighters arrive.
The Drone as First Responder pilot lets patrol officers launch an unmanned aerial system to a call location, either as part of a police response or when the fire department asks for one. Live video from the aircraft is intended to tell responders what they are heading into — including, in some cases, that no one needs to go.
The Bellevue City Council approved funding for the program Sept. 8. The Bellevue Police Foundation and Apex Systems are contributing money as well.
How the Program Works
Two patrol officers trained as pilots will staff the pilot program. When a call comes in that warrants a drone, one of them will send an aircraft to the scene while officers and fire crews are still driving to it. The footage the drone sends back is meant to help responders size up the situation and decide what equipment and how many personnel the call actually requires.
The aircraft can also establish that no emergency response is needed, which leaves officers free to handle other calls that do require someone on scene. Redmond, which runs a similar program, recorded an 18.8% decrease in officer-initiated responses in 2025 after drone footage showed that certain calls did not warrant an officer.
Bellevue is working with Skydio to run the program. The company’s law enforcement customers include the police departments in Redmond and in Fort Collins, Colorado.
What the Chiefs Say
“The Drone as First Responder program is a true force multiplier for the Bellevue Police Department,” said Police Chief Wendell Shirley. “This city resource will empower our officers to respond to calls for service faster, safer and with greater precision across the city. This program ensures we maximize our capabilities and deploy our resources with efficiency.”
Fire Chief Dave Tait pointed to what crews will know before they step off the rig.
“I am relieved to know our crews will have information about the situation they are about to face before they even set the parking brake on scene,” Tait said. “Using UAS in our fire response improves situational awareness, firefighter safety, and operational effectiveness, allowing our incident commanders the ability to see real-time aerial and thermal views of structure fires, wildland fires, hazardous materials incidents, technical rescue incidents, and large-scale emergencies.”
Building on Drone Use Since 2021
Bellevue has flown unmanned aerial systems since 2021, using them mainly to support officers documenting widespread storm damage and investigating traffic collisions. The first responder pilot extends that work to live calls for service.
Privacy Limits and a Public Dashboard
Police and fire drones will fly only in response to a call for service. Data the city gathers will be handled under local retention policies and applicable state and local law.
The city also plans to post a transparency dashboard where residents can look up information about drone operations, following the same approach the police department took when it launched a public data and transparency site in 2022. Details on the city’s broader unmanned aerial systems program are posted on Bellevue’s website.
The pilot runs for one year.
