Sterling Heights police drones have flown about 150 missions in their first month, reaching one homicide scene in a minute

STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. — Sterling Heights police say their new drones are getting to emergencies before officers can, including a homicide scene on 15 Mile Road this month that a drone reached in about one minute.

The city's Drone as First Responder program launched in September and has flown about 150 missions, including training flights, police told WXYZ at the program's official unveiling Oct. 14 at Fire Station 4.

"Our drones have assisted in locating two suspects who fled on foot, and during our most recent homicide investigation, a drone arrived on scene in approximately one minute and provided our personnel with real-time direction and perspective during that critical incident," Police Chief Andrew Satterfield said.

The drones launch from three docking stations at city buildings in the north, central and south parts of the city. When a call comes in, a trained operator enters an address and the drone flies there on its own, sending live video to officers and firefighters on the way, according to the city. Fire crews can use it to size up fires, crashes and flooding.

The City Council approved the program in January. The city chose Axon Enterprise, working with drone maker Skydio, for the hardware, software and maintenance. The first year costs $149,264 and the five-year total is $678,822.40, plus $13,500 for electrical and data work at the docking sites. Mayor Michael Taylor said the program is paid for entirely with federal forfeiture funds, "without impacting local taxpayers."

Police stress the drones are for emergency response, not routine surveillance, and the city promised a public, 24-hour transparency portal showing flight activity. One resident told WXYZ she was hesitant at first but felt better once told the program is "nothing like Flock." Neighboring Warren launched a similar program in March.

Sources:
WXYZ, “Sterling Heights police take emergency response to the sky with new drone program,” Oct. 14, 2026, https://www.wxyz.com/news/sterling-heights-police-take-emergency-response-to-the-sky-with-new-drone-program
City of Sterling Heights, “Sterling Heights Launches Drone as a First Responder Program,” Jan. 21, 2026, https://www.sterlingheights.gov/CivicAlerts.asp?AID=1899
MLive, “Drones give Sterling Heights police and fire real-time scene views,” October 2026, https://www.mlive.com/detroit/2026/10/drones-give-sterling-heights-police-and-fire-real-time-scene-views.html
Photo: Alexander Kubitza (U.S. Department of Defense), “Skydio X10 in flight.jpg,” Dec. 12, 2023, Wikimedia Commons, public domain, cropped and color-adjusted, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Skydio_X10_in_flight.jpg

Sterling Heights

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