He first stole a car that was parked outside a local coffee shop. When asked about this crime, he said that he saw the car running and wanted to ‘feed his habit’, so he decided to get inside and drive away. Phiffer also robbed a convenient store during his spree. He walked up to the cashier at the store and handed him a note stating that he has a gun and wants all the money in the cash register.
The convenient store employee later said that he did not see a gun on Phiffer at any point. After committing these crimes, Phiffer was on the run and police were offered a helping hand by the Middleton Fire Department. The department gave the police a drone to help locate the criminal.
To their advantage, the drone worked miraculously and was able to track Phiffer down. He is now in jail with bail set to $5,000. This incident certainly goes to show how useful drone technology can be when put in the right hands. The police were able to locate the criminal without much trouble thanks to the unmanned aerial vehicle.
Criminals such as Phiffer who put others’ lives in danger by driving their car 70 miles per hour while being chased by the police should be apprehended and put behind bars immediately. And that is exactly what the drone helped the Middleton Police Department do. With such success stories, it is hoped that drones are used more actively in law enforcement in the years to come.
Coincidentally, this story is incredibly timely because we were just talking about using drones for this exact purpose on Manufacturing Talk Radio on Tuesday.