State Troopers using drones to police State Fair traffic and midway

STATE FAIRGROUNDS (WSYR-TV) — For the first time ever, New York State Police have deployed a drone detail to help troopers protect the State Fair.

Sgt. Dave Olney and Trooper Chris Blair use a patch of grass between highways as a makeshift landing pad, where they launch a drone over the Fairgrounds for hours of monitoring.

During the daylight hours, the focus is traffic monitoring. The drone’s live video feed is sent to the Fair’s Joint Operations Center so traffic managers and police can make real-time decisions about roads and parking lots.

The technology can see all the way down I-690 to Bear Street, two miles from the Fairgrounds.

At night, the Troopers help keep watch over the Midway. In some cases, the drone has been the first to find fights reported to police.

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