By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
Sea Isle City’s police department has a new crime-fighting tool that has a range of eight miles, can zip along at 40 mph and can soar hundreds of feet high.
The drone made its public debut Tuesday evening at Sea Isle’s family-friendly annual National Night Out celebration attracting hundreds of children and adults at Excursion Park.
Costing $9,000, the sophisticated drone is equipped with a thermal-imaging camera to capture video, a strobe light for nighttime flying, a spotlight and a loudspeaker.
Police Chief Anthony Garreffi explained that one key function of the drone will be to help police keep an eye on large crowds on the beaches, the oceanfront Promenade and other parts of town.
For instance, if groups of rowdy teenagers are causing trouble, the drone could be sent overhead and an announcement could be made over the loudspeaker for them to disperse, Garreffi said.
In recent summers, Sea Isle and other Jersey Shore towns have been dealing with an outbreak of unruly teens committing crimes ranging from underage drinking to vandalism to theft.
Garreffi said the drone will now be part of Sea Isle’s broader strategy to prevent teens from causing trouble. Sea Isle already uses surveillance cameras along the Promenade and in other parts of town to supplement its police patrols.
Although the drone has crime-fighting capabilities, Garreffi noted that its primary use will likely be to help police locate missing children.
“There are many things we can do with it,” he said.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-DthISyy2k
After months of rigorous training, four Sea Isle police officers have been certified by the Federal Aviation Administration as drone pilots. Garreffi said the plan is to have at least two more officers trained as pilots.
“The training itself is pretty extensive just to get your license,” said Det. Sgt. Nicholas Giordano, who will oversee the department’s drone operations.
Giordano gave a demonstration of some of the drone’s capabilities while flying the lightweight craft hundreds of feet overhead at the National Night Out celebration.
Gliding along at 40 mph, the drone quickly descended from at an altitude of hundreds of feet to make a perfect landing under Giordano’s control.
Garreffi said the drone has a range of eight miles. FAA regulations cap its maximum flying altitude at 400 feet, he explained.
The drone’s relatively long range will help the city survey damage to Sea Isle’s beaches and dunes after coastal storms, Garreffi said, while mentioning yet another use for the craft.
Sea Isle, a low-lying island, is vulnerable to flooding in coastal storms and unusually high tides. The drone will give the city a bird’s-eye view of flooding in real time as it develops around the island.
Det. Sgt. Nicholas Giordano looks up while flying the drone.
The city didn’t have to pay for the drone. Instead, businessman Chris Heffernan, a Glenside, Pa., resident who owns a summer vacation home in Sea Isle, donated the $9,000 to purchase the drone.
“Giving back to the community is important to me,” said Heffernan, who attended the National Night Out celebration with his wife, Christine.
Heffernan noted that he has made other donations to emergency responders, including the Glenside fire department and the Glenside police department’s K-9 unit.
He is the founder and CEO of a delivery company called “dlivrd” serving 160 markets in the U.S. and Canada.
When asked whether he would like to try his hand at flying Sea Isle’s new drone, Heffernan joked that he would probably crash it if he did.
“I don’t know if they would want that. We might be buying another one,” he said, laughing.
Sea Isle’s police department used a $1,318 donation from the city’s former Town Watch/Town Pride community group to pay for drone flight training for the officers.
Town Watch/Town Pride disbanded last year after its membership shrank to just one person. As a parting gesture, the group donated $1,318 in leftover membership dues to the city for a drone.
Crowds pack Excursion Park for the National Night Out celebration.
In addition to showing off their new drone, Sea Isle’s police officers mingled with the crowds at National Night Out.
National Night Out helps police officers, firefighters and other emergency responders build relationships in the community by interacting with children and families in a relaxed, fun setting.
“We want them to know that we’re a part of the community,” Garreffi said of the first responders’ relationship with the public.
Hundreds of people turned out for the event, which was held from 6 to 8 p.m. in Excursion Park. The evening included kid-friendly games, face-painting, free food and other attractions.
The first responders posed for photos and showed off their emergency equipment. Children were able to get a peek inside a fire engine and other emergency vehicles.
Sunil Pharoah, an 8-year-old boy from Elkridge, Maryland, picked up a football while playing a game of “Quarterback Toss” with Officer Casandra Parke. Sunil’s grandfather, Chawla Harbhajan, proudly watched his grandson throw the football. Harbhajan has a summer home in Sea Isle.
“It was fun. I got to throw the football,” Sunil said afterward.
Sunil Pharoah throws the football while playing a game of "Quarterback Toss" with Officer Casandra Parke.
Marina Ermold, a resident of Shillington, Pa., who has a summer home in Sea Isle, was accompanied by her sons, Zander, 23, and Austin, 22, at National Night Out.
Austin is a special needs adult who has participated in Sea Isle’s “Shooting Stars” summer basketball clinic for children and young adults with special needs.
He has also taken part in other programs or special events that included Sea Isle’s police officers, his mother said.
As the Ermold family arrived at Excursion Park for National Night Out, Austin greeted police Capt. Steve Conte with the words, “Thank you for protecting us.”
Conte smiled broadly in response to Austin’s gesture.
Marina Ermold is joined by her sons, Zander, left, and Austin at National Night Out.
Face-painting is among the kid-friendly activities.
Sea Isle firefighters show off one of their trucks to the crowd.
