An Everett Police drone reached a swerving truck on Highway 527 before patrol cars could, tracked it from the air and helped officers arrest the driver on a DUI charge.

The Aug. 20 incident is among the earliest public examples of the city's Drone as First Responder (DFR) program in action. The program can put a camera over any point within 3.5 miles of its docks in an average of 86 seconds, according to the Everett Police Department. For residents along Highway 527 and surrounding neighborhoods, that means aerial eyes on a dangerous driver before a cruiser turns a corner.

Multiple callers dialed 911 around 2 p.m. that day to report a truck weaving into oncoming southbound traffic, the Everett Post reported. Everett Police spokesperson Officer Natalie Given said one caller reported the driver had been "stopped at (traffic) light for 5 minutes slumped over." The caller also reported the driver was hitting curbs.

A drone operator located the truck while patrol officers were still en route. The operator confirmed the erratic driving from the air, then watched the truck pull into a residential driveway and rear-end a parked car. The car's owner had no connection to the suspect.

Officers arrested the driver, an 18-year-old man. He was booked into Snohomish County Jail on a DUI charge. The department released drone footage of the tracking, including radio traffic of officers relaying the suspect's position.

Program background

The Everett City Council approved a two-year agreement with Flock Safety on April 9, 2025, to launch the DFR program. It is the second such program in Washington state. The system stations drones in automated, battery-swapping docks at locations across the city.

Flock Safety provided the first drone at no cost for the first year. A second drone cost $50,000, funded through a state legislative impact fund. The department's broader drone program dates to 2022.

Federal money is also flowing to the effort. The U.S. Department of Justice awarded the department a $38,199 grant for first responder drone operations, myeverettnews.com reported on Aug. 13.

Everett Police have committed to posting DFR usage data on a public transparency portal. No scheduled review date for the program has been announced.