Mooresville Police Department Launches Drone First Responder Program

MOORESVILLE, NC — The Mooresville Police Department (MPD) has launched its new

Drone First Responder (DFR) program is designed to get eyes on the scene faster and enhance

public safety.

The DFR program equips MPD with six drones — three stationed at MPD Headquarters and

three at One Mooresville Center — that can respond to incidents within a 3.5-mile radius at

speeds of up to 55 mph. This capability provides aerial coverage and critical support before

officers and first responders arrive on scene.

A trained operator, based in the Mooresville Police Department headquarters, will launch and pilot

the drone when the nature of a 911 call warrants it. The pilot communicates with officers on

scene or en route, to deliver real-time situational awareness.

This new technology positions MPD to respond more effectively to high-risk situations, locate

missing persons and fleeing suspects, and assist investigators with traffic and crime scene

documentation.

“Part of our mission is to be prepared for the future,” said Chief Ron Campurciani. “This

technology allows us to be more informed situationally, so our responses can be precise and

efficient, no matter the incident.”

MPD’s DFR program is the first of its kind in Iredell County and reflects the department’s

commitment to innovation. It enhances the ability to respond to emergency calls by integrating

with the department’s Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) system, which manages 911 calls, logs

incident details, and coordinates response efforts. The DFR system relies on GPS coordinates

from CAD, not only 911 call data, to pinpoint destinations. Radar is used to detect and avoid

other aircraft during flights, ensuring safety rather than guiding navigation.

The program also promotes community transparency by automatically tracking and logging

drone activity in a publicly available portal, the Mooresville Flight Dashboard. The dashboard

displays up-to-the-minute data on the number of calls, average response times, and types of calls,

along with visual flight plans that track each drone’s path.

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