Northern Lancaster County Regional Police Officer Brandon Legerlotz’s five-year law enforcement career has merged with a burgeoning technological device: drones.

Legerlotz specializes as his department’s Drone Operator and was one of the first in his agency to become certified. As a technology enthusiast, it’s something he sees as playing a big role in law enforcement in the future.

“It’s a significant aspect of improving law enforcement’s future,” Legerlotz said. “I am always intrigued to see new technology implemented in law enforcement. I feel that drones will play a big role in law enforcement in the next five to 10 years as they continue to grow and become implemented by many companies using them for deliveries, transportation, and inspecting tall objects such as towers and bridges.”

Legerlotz was involved in the agency’s drone program from the beginning and said it was one of the most memorable moments of his career to date. According to Legerlotz, NLCRPD typically uses drones for search and rescue measures currently.

“Using thermal drones helps reduce the time it takes to locate missing or endangered subjects by rapidly covering large amounts of the area,” he said. “For example, Lancaster County has a lot of cornfields and other farmland. Cornfields are almost impossible to canvas from the ground and are also the number one location where suspects and missing individuals could wander. Thermal drones allow us to canvas the cornfield in minutes to determine if a subject is inside them.”

Drones are also used for accident reconstruction, allowing the creation of a digital reconstruction to describe what happened more effectively to viewers.

Legerlotz grew up in Lancaster County and went through the uniform six-month Police Academy training course at Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC), learning law on a local, state, and constitutional level; civil rights; and police ethics. Training in defense tactics and emergency response are also taught.

Yearly trainings consist of firearms and use-of-force and the Municipal Police Officers Education and Training Commission (MPOETC) requires legal updates courses, which informs officers of new case law and more.

“Aside from wanting to help people, I decided to work in law enforcement because it provides a work environment that is both challenging and rewarding,” Legerlotz said. “I wanted a career that involved something other than sitting behind a desk all day and doing repetitive tasks.”

In terms of the most difficult parts of the job, Legerlotz said making decisions in high-stress situations with little to no time to process your available options is near the top.

“Officers will respond to calls for service with a combative subject or someone in a medical emergency and have to be able to make a decision or use a particular tool like a taser or another measure to control or save the person's life,” he said. “These decisions are then judged afterward by the public and administration at times.”

The career can be stressful and Legerlotz taps into his technology interests – he builds and repairs computers – outside of work to manage it. He also enjoys spending time with friends and family, exercising, and running daily to decompress.

He understands the higher standard police officers hold as authority figures in society and, overall, believes aspects such as having an individual come up and thank them for their help makes the job satisfying in ways other occupations can’t match.

“I always want people to know at the end of the day we are human just like everyone else,” Legerlotz said. “At times, the uniform can be intimidating, but I want people to know they can talk to us like ordinary people.”

Legerlotz recommends the career to prospective applicants stating it’s a commitment to justice and serving the greater good of the community.

“Many people who work in law enforcement are able to leverage their natural skills in communications, empathy and awareness to protect their communities,” he said. “This job can be very challenging and rewarding at times and requires you to be able to solve problems in complicated and high-stress situations. This is something every person considering a law enforcement career path should know before pursuing.”

MEDIA CONTACT: Sean McBryan, semcbryan@co.lancaster.pa.us; Twitter: @SeanMcBryanLanc.