Lodi Police will use drone to catch illegal fireworks

Due to noise complaints — along with lost limbs and fires caused by recklessness — the Lodi Police Department will utilize its drone to keep an eye out for people using illegal fireworks.

Lodi City Council members discussed using the drone at Wednesday’s meeting, after Councilman Alan Nakanishi read a letter from a citizen whose house nearly burned down after their neighbor set off illegal fireworks.

The Lodi Fire Department used to perform patrols around the city leading up to the Fourth of July to make sure people were not shooting off illegal fireworks. However, that stopped following an incident that left firefighters exposed to a group of hostile people believed to have been under the influence.

“The crowd was very aggressive and our fire staff was outnumbered, so rather than risk their safety, they withdrew and the police department was contacted,” Lodi Fire Chief Gene Stoddart said.

Use of the drone should help keep Lodi officers safe while catching people in the act using the illegal fireworks, city spokesman Jeff Hood said.

“Using drones will allow officers to identify more people using fireworks. A lot of the time you see things happening at a distance, and by the time officers get to the scene it is to late to find who was responsible,” he said.

Anything that shoots up into the air or makes a loud “boom” noise is most likely illegal, Stoddart said. People caught using illegal fireworks can be fined $1,000 and face possible jail time.

Illegal fireworks are under more scrutiny by law enforcement because they are more dangerous than the “safe and sane” fireworks sold at legal booths throughout the city, Stoddart said.

“We respond to emergency calls where a fire will break out as a result of illegal fireworks, but most of the calls we get are due to injuries caused by them,” he said.

According to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission, approximately 12,900 firework-related injuries were treated in emergency departments in 2018, resulting in eight firework-related deaths.

“Most injuries occur as a result of people burning themselves. We did have an incident where someone lit an illegal firework inside a car and tried to toss it out of a window. Instead, it ricocheted back inside, and when (he) went to grab it, it had gone off and he lost his finger,” Stoddart said.

Legal fireworks come with risks too, he added. People must be more mindful of their surroundings and practice common sense, Stoddart said.

“Never give fireworks to small children, light fireworks a minimum of 25 feet away from buildings, and always have an adult present when shooting fireworks,” he said.

For residents desperate to see pyrotechnics high in the sky, Park, Recreation and Cultural Services will host the city’s annual fireworks display at Lodi Lake on July 4.

“This year we will have 40 percent more fireworks shells, which is 1,200 shells,” Hood said.

The city has also purchased larger fireworks, which have a higher airborne trajectory, he said.

“Due to the size and amount of fireworks purchased, the launch site was relocated near the northern part of Lodi Lake,” he said.

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