ROAS - Remote Operated Aerial System

A Message from Chief Ken Seuberlich

October, 2021

The Bothell Police department is pleased to announce the implementation of your Remotely Operated Aerial System (ROAS), also referred to as drones.

ROAS platforms are not new to law enforcement.  Law enforcement agencies have been utilizing these platforms since 2005. Since then, their use has grown every year as communities and agencies find new and innovative ways to become more efficient and improve community and officer safety.  

Over the past few years, we have utilized ROAS platforms from our neighboring agencies on various incidents.  Some of those incidents include; locating missing/vulnerable children, locating a dangerous armed suspect who shot an officer, burglaries in progress, K-9 tracks, homicide investigations, vehicle assault, and collision investigations, to name a few.  

When developing this program, the Bothell Police Department organized a number of community engagement forums to discuss what the community wanted and didn’t want from the program.  We took that input and information from a variety of organizations, such as the ACLU, the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC), the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), and the Department of Justice (DOJ), to develop a best practices policy.

On our ROAS page, you will see that we have created links to our ROAS policy, FAQs, how to complain about a drone flight, and how to request a copy of a case or flight log through Public Records Request (PRR).  The link to our flight logs will provide you with the date, time, the reason for the flight, while also providing a flight path overlay on a map link.   The flight log program has been purchased and should be posted online for public access by Nov. 1^st.

The Bothell Police Department would like to thank everyone who helped us craft this program to meet our communities needs and expectations.