The Seeker was purchased by CCPD with grant money.
CORPUS CHRISTI -
Criminals beware.
CCPD has a new heat-sensing eye in the sky to find you, and this one doesn't even need a pilot.
The department put its new drone to use for the first on Friday.
A resident along Lazy Lane called police around 9am to report two suspicious men walking down the street toward Sam Houston Elementary, and claimed one might be carrying a gun.
Officers captured one immediately, but the other ran off, and for the next few hours, neighbors watched as police swarmed the area.
Officers first called in the K-9, and then the "Seeker".
The department's newest drone is equipped with several cameras, including one with FLIR infrared technology to detect body heat through obstacles like trees or bushes.
The department already had a smaller quadcopter, mainly used for surveying flooded areas, documenting the scene of a bad wreck, or for promotional videos.
The Seeker is one of only two drones made specifically for law enforcement, according to its manufacturer, Maxsur.
Click here to check out the specs on the Seeker.
Because of the technology it includes, the Seeker is not available to the general public.
The Corpus Christi Crime Control and Prevention District purchased the drone for the department about a month ago.
The cost typically runs about $12,000, according to Maxsur.
Video shared with KRIS 6 News after the search on Friday shows infrared video of officers with a k-9 going through a backyard.
The second suspect eventually came out of hiding and tried to blend in, but failed.
He was not, however, carrying a gun.
"We have not recovered a weapon at this point," said Lt. Edward Longoria, "we are still looking for a weapon, possibly underneath one of the houses here, so we are going to continue our search for that."
It's unclear whether it was the Seeker that forced the second suspect out this time, but with so many tools, that day is likely not far away.
Andrew Ramos and Isaiah Cheatham were both arrested for evading arrest.
One of them was also arrested for for Possession of Synthetic Marijuana.
Story, video and photos: http://www.kristv.com
It appears that the Corpus Christi Police Department has a new tool in its fight against criminals in that area.
On Friday the department released video footage of a drone assisting officers in smoking out a pair of suspects that were reported to be carrying firearms near Sam Houston Elementary in Corpus Christi.
It all went down just after 9 a.m. on Friday morning.
In the black and white video released online, three officers can be seen from above searching a backyard in a nearby neighborhood. That smaller, four-legged figure is a Corpus Christi PD K9 officer.
They were looking for two suspects that eyewitnesses said were carrying guns.
FLIR thermal imaging technology used by the quadcopter drone above helped officers clear the area. A witness at the scene told KZTV-TV that he and others could see the drone in the air while officers did work on the ground.
Two suspects, Andrew Ramos, 18, and Isaiah Cheatham, 19, were found and later charged with evading arrest. Cheatham was found to be in possession of synthetic marijuana.
Ramos emerged after Cheatham, who was quickly arrested at the scene. No weapons were found on the men but police believe that they may have ditched whatever weapons they had in the area.
Using a relatively quiet drone of course cuts down on the noise of a police helicopter that would give away police movement and disturb neighbors.
Story, video, photo gallery and comments: http://www.chron.com
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