The Pullman Police Department has introduced a new upgrade to their existing drone program. MIKE, or “mission-integrated kinetic energy,” is a robotic dog introduced to police at the end of October.

MIKE, which is operated by drone pilots, is a unique de-escalation tool and ground-based addition to the drone program, Commander Aaron Breshears said. The plan to update the drone fleet with technological advantages, such as MIKE, has been in the works for nearly a year and a half.

MIKE is considered a City of Pullman capital improvement project, financially covered by a percentage of sales tax set aside annually.

MIKE can hold up to 25 pounds and can move supplies such as phones or first aid supplies while on the ground, something else other drones in the fleet cannot do, Breshears said.

One of MIKE’s most useful skills is his ability to transmit 4K video footage, he said. MIKE is equipped with Light Detection and Ranging mapping technology, which helps Pullman PD plan for contingencies.

“Avoiding putting police officers in a risky position was a huge goal of getting Mike,” Breshears said. “We would much rather have damage [to] our robot dog than a police officer who had to go close in a negotiation situation.”

While MIKE has not yet been deployed for on-scene use yet, his most likely use would be in any situation where an officer could be in danger or where MIKE could mitigate the use of force.

“We’ve had some barricaded subjects recently that were armed with firearms,” Breshears said. “That was a dangerous situation for our officers to be in and they had to move and respond very carefully. That situation would have been perfect to use MIKE.”

Currently, MIKE is most useful in situations where his cameras are used to provide the police department with situational intelligence. The next phase would be to move him to subjects for communication establishment or help with a barricade situation, he said.

“If an officer becomes endangered, the only way to stop that is to probably use force,” Breshears said. “If we can keep an officer from being endangered or the public from being endangered, then we can bring everything down a notch so that situations can be resolved peacefully.”