Mokena Police Chief Gives Update On New Drone Program

Mokena IL

11 August, 2021

12:04 PM

Description

By Jon DePaolis, Richard Free Press: MOKENA, Ill. — The Mokena Police Department's new drone program has taken flight. "I'm excited to announce that [the program] is up and running," Mokena Police Chief John Keating told the Village of Mokena Board of Trustees during the Monday, Aug. 9 meeting. "We're getting very good, positive feedback from the officers in the field." Keating said nine of the department's officers were trained over the course of two days in late July by the Village's vendor, MFE Enterprises in New Lenox. "Our first actual in-the-field deployment was on Aug. 4," Keating said. "That was an assist to the Illinois State Police for a subject that fled a traffic stop on I-80." In that incident, the state police stopped a vehicle that was heading west on I-80 for speeding. "During the stop, the trooper attempted to arrest the driver, Melvin D. Lenoir, [a] 47-year-old male of Harvey, at which time he fled the scene on foot and a multi-jurisdiction manhunt was initiated," according to a news release issued by ISP. "Shortly after escaping, Lenoir entered a nearby residence where he was confronted by the homeowner causing Lenoir to flee. At approximately 1:48 a.m., a Mokena police officer observed Lenoir in a retail parking lot near 191st Street and LaGrange Road and placed him into custody." Keating said the second deployment was on Aug. 8 for an "in-progress commercial burglary." "It's an exciting program," Keating told the board members. "Previously, Mokena has utilized other jurisdictions' drones when we've had incidents." He said the drones can be used for things such as missing persons or searching for offenders who have fled a scene. "It's just another tool in the toolbox that we can utilize to make the Mokena community safer," Keating said. "The officers that are utilizing them — the nine that are certified — are currently filtered into the three different shifts. Time is of the essence for in-progress calls. They carry [the drones] in their squad cars, so that way they can show up on the scene, activate the drone, and get them up fairly quickly." He also said the drone program was approved using asset forfeiture funds, meaning it was paid for without any cost to the taxpayers. Richard Free Press is a one-stop destination for the news that most affects you, the southwest suburban resident. Be an informed citizen of the town you live in and love.