The Perry Police Department this week marked the launch of the Sgt. Verle Haglund drone, named in honor of a longtime officer of the Perry force, who served from 1967 to 1991.
The aerial assistant, a Matrice 200 V2, includes an infrared camera able to see heat signatures in daylight or darkness. The unit was purchased from the Dallas County Sheriff’s office with funds donated by the Haglund family. Haglund died in January 2025.
“We thought it was fitting,” said Perry Police Chief Jim Archer. “From what I’ve been told, Verle he was the first police officer who started here and also retired from here. There’s only been maybe three, and Verle was the first.”
The sheriff’s office contacted the Perry Police Department in July, Archer said, looking to sell an older drone no longer in use, so the Perry department bought the unit, which originally sold for $25,000 in 2020, for $3,000.
Archer said the department’s recent award of $6,600 from the 100+ People for Perry charity group will be put toward a second drone for department use.
“It will be the priority of the Perry Police Department not to infringe on our citizens’ privacy when the drone is in use,” Archer said. “The drone will be deployed for emergency calls and training purposes only.”
The drone has already seen some department action. It was deployed Wednesday evening to help locate a runaway teenager in the vicinity of 16th and North streets in Perry.
The Perry Police Department Officer Officer Jayden Day, who has a private pilot license, is also licensed to operate the drone. Archer and several other officers — Officer Jordan Berry, Officer Tyson Dahlberg, Sgt Alex Lott, Officer Cameron Martinez, Officer Jose Perez and Officer Josh Sparks — are in the process of qualifying as drone operators.
