Police eyes in the air and a mix of feet and paws on the ground tracked down a suspect to a hedge where he was hiding.
Response officers and the drone and dog teams combined to great effect following reports a car had crashed in Broxtowe.
The vehicle was discovered on its side in the middle of Woodfield Road, having reportedly hit multiple cars and flipped over.
Nobody was reportedly inside any of the other vehicles when the collision took place, just before 9.50pm on Monday (17 November).
Seeing the driver’s seat of the upended vehicle was empty, the officers in attendance immediately spread out to conduct an area search.
A drone was then deployed into the sky to assist the response officers on the ground, who were also supported by a police dog and handler.
It didn’t take long after that for the drone’s powerful thermal imaging camera to spot someone police suspected could be the driver of the damaged car.
With the drone providing a bird’s eye view and communicating with those on the ground, response colleagues were able to zero-in on the individual’s position.
A short foot pursuit then took place through gardens and over fences, before the suspect burrowed into a hedge in an attempt to hide under the bush.
Unbeknownst to him though, the drone above him was tracking his every movement and was able to quickly direct police to the garden in question.
With a police dog and his handler just a few yards away, the fleeing man made the decision to climb out from his hiding place.
The 54-year-old man was at that point arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving and failing to stop after a road accident.
Believing he could also be under the influence of alcohol, police asked the man to complete a breathalyser test, which he failed.
Based on this, he was additionally arrested on suspicion of drink-driving.
Sergeant Danielle Richardson, of Nottinghamshire Police, said:
“This was a great example of our different policing teams working in tandem to get a positive result in rapid time.
“Our response team was initially called to reports a car had been involved in a collision and was on its side in the middle of the road.
“After quickly realising the driver had fled from the scene, the officers wasted no time at all in spreading out to search the area, with the help of the drone and dog teams.
“That rapid response ultimately resulted in a suspect being identified, with the already airborne drone then guiding the officers on the ground to his position.
“Thanks to some great communication between the teams, the individual was left with no alternative but to come out from a hedge where he was hiding so he could be arrested.”
