Bellevue expands use of drones for city’s first responders
Sep 10, 2026, 1:00 PM
(Photo courtesy of KIRO 7)
(Photo courtesy of KIRO 7)
Bellevue is expanding its use of drones for its first responders.
This week, the city council approved funding for a one-year pilot program that will let police officers quickly deploy a drone to an incident scene.
Bellevue has been using drones since 2021 to help police officers with large-scale weather damage and crash investigations. The approval of this new pilot program will be an extension of that work.
How does the program work?
When a call for service comes in that merits a drone response, an officer will deploy one to quickly analyze the incident while officers and firefighters head that direction.
The drones will help first responders determine what resources they’ll need to respond effectively, efficiently, and safely.
They can be used to safely clear the interior of buildings, search for missing people, and help assess structure fires.
The program will launch this fall.
Thoughts from the chiefs
“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 David Tait echoed Chief Shirley’s sentiments.
“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,” he added. “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.”
Community privacy
The city says that any data collected from the drones will adhere to local retention policies and state laws. Community members will also be able to access a web page with a transparency dashboard.
Success from a neighboring city
Redmond has been using drones since 2019. In 2024, the department implemented its Drones as First Responders program to respond to 911 calls.
In 2025, the city saw an 18.8% drop in officer-initiated responses because information from the drones indicated the calls did not actually require an officer.
