Sen. Justice Proposes Bill to Test Nonlethal Drones for Police Response to Active Shooters
This bill was recently introduced in the Senate and is currently being reviewed by the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. It is in the early stages of the lawmaking process and has no upcoming votes scheduled. The bill is considered active as it waits for the committee to decide on its next steps.
While the bill addresses public safety, new technology for law enforcement often faces long delays in committee and concerns about how the drones might be used in other situations.
Scores run from -100 (strongly harmful) to +100 (strongly beneficial) for each group, combining impact, certainty, scope, and duration ratings of 1-5. How impact scoring works
Students in schools, which are frequent targets of active shooter events, could benefit if this technology proves effective at stopping or slowing shooters before armed officers arrive. The program specifically tests indoor scenarios, which matches the environment of most school shootings. However, this is a pilot program and any real-world deployment is years away.
“assess the efficacy of nonlethal deescalation unmanned aircraft in indoor active shooter events and the safety benefits associated with increasing the safe engagement distance between a law enforcement officer and an active shooter.”
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.
Introduced in Senate
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
Senator Jim Justice introduced the De-escalation Drone Pilot Program Act of 2026 to establish a drone pilot program within the FAA to review the potential use of drones equipped with non-lethal devices for law enforcement responding to high-risk scenarios like active shooters.
A bipartisan House bill would launch a pilot program to test how small, nonlethal drones could help law enforcement manage active shooter situations. The bill requires the FAA to establish training protocols and safety guidelines for drone operators.
No votes recorded for this bill yet.
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
Deescalation Drone Pilot Program Act of 2026
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