Incredible video shows drone being used to retrieve man’s knife during a standoff

Digital Media Manager

The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office on Monday released video footage showing deputies using a drone to disarm a wanted parolee during a standoff last week.

The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office said the man, identified as 30-year-old Austin Carter, was inside a Sacramento home on Thursday. SWAT deputies surrounded the home, and nearby residents were evacuated out of an abundance of caution, the sheriff’s office said.

The sheriff’s office said deputies tried to arrest the wanted parolee, but he ran inside and hid in the garage.

Police used a robot dog, a police K-9, and a drone to assist their efforts.

The newly released footage shows a drone with a magnet attached to it flying into a home and pulling a knife from the man’s hand. He does not appear to resist the effort.

Sgt. Edward Igoe with the sheriff’s office said Carter is a registered sex offender with a violent criminal history who had been involved in previous barricade incidents.

The drone was deployed because Carter was earlier seen with a firearm and had not responded to negotiators while in the garage.

“They realized, oh, he’s not moving, he’s unconscious, but he’s still armed with a knife. He still had it actively in his hand,” Tom Lee, drone pilot and deputy with the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, said. “We determined with the drones that he was still alive. He was still breathing. And the aspect of going in there with a deputy seemed too dangerous.”

So, they tried something they had never tried before.

“One of our SWAT guys mentioned, ‘Hey, can we try throwing a magnet on the drone to see if it would work?’ And they grabbed one of their magnets they had from the vehicle, and we attached it to the drone. And I was able to get in there and fly and attach it to the knife and get it out of there,” Lee said.

“Ultimately, he did reanimate after his copious use of drugs, and we continued to try to talk him out. But now at least he no longer had the knife in his hand. Because of that, we were able to send in a K-9. K-9 Bo was able to go in and successfully apprehend him. And none of our personnel were injured,” Igoe said.

Igoe said he doesn’t see this kind of scenario happening ever again, but that they’ll always look for creative solutions in difficult situations.

“In this case, since he was immobile, why not use a drone, get in there, reduce the risk,” Lee said.