BCSO drone helps deputies safely arrest shots-fired suspect

A Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office drone spotted a handgun sitting on the dashboard of a suspect vehicle, giving deputies a clearer and safer way to move into a volatile shots-fired call. The office released the video to show how its drone unit works with dispatch, the Real Time Operations Center and deputies in the field when seconds matter.

The April incident began with a 911 call reporting that a man had allegedly shot at a woman. Drone operators tracked the suspect vehicle to a mobile home park and kept eyes on it from above, where the live video showed the weapon in plain view. Deputies identified the suspect as Francisco Romero, who was taken into custody and now faces a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Sheriff John Allen has been building the case that drones are becoming a regular part of patrol work in Bernalillo County. In April, Allen said BCSO drones had flown to nearly 200 calls, reached scenes before deputies about 65% of the time and helped clear roughly 11% of calls since March 10 without an in-person deputy response. The department said nine of its 24 drones were capable of dispatching as first responders, and its earlier plan called for autonomous aircraft that could fly up to 35 mph, be launched from the Real Time Operations Center in Tijeras and eventually support a trained group of 25 deputies.

The county’s push has also drawn outside funding. In February, the department said it had received about $500,000 in federal money to expand the fleet from nine drones to 25 and add new software. BCSO has also said the program operates under a three-to-five year contract with Skydio, and that some of the newer drones would be equipped with parachutes.

For Bernalillo County residents, the shooting case shows both sides of the drone debate at once. On one hand, the overhead view may keep deputies from walking into a hidden weapon and can help calm a dangerous scene before it turns worse. On the other, BCSO’s own drone rules say the agency should consider privacy rights under the U.S. Constitution, the New Mexico Constitution and applicable law, a reminder that every new aerial tool brings questions about when it is used, how long footage is kept and what independent checks exist as the program expands.