In the 1950 movie “Annie Get Your Gun” all she got was her gun. In 2026, an item on the Guilford County Board of Commissioners agenda could be called “Danny Get Your Drone” – because Guilford County Sheriff Danny Rogers is about to get some drones and other cool gear.
The Guilford County Sheriff’s Office is planning to add drones, electric bikes and more GPS vehicle tracking equipment to its collection of law enforcement tools.
The commissioners are scheduled to accept a $74,397 federal Justice Assistance Grant at their Thursday, Oct. 1 meeting.
The Sheriff’s Office plans to spend $52,800 of the grant on three Parrot ANAFI UKR GOV drones, $10,200 on three electric bicycles for special event patrols and $9,105 on three pieces of tracking equipment for the department’s existing StarChase program.
Another $2,400 will pay for six helmets for the Sheriff’s Office Motorcycle Team, which sounds like a lot but the head is the most important thing to preserve in a crash.
The StarChase equipment is particularly interesting because the Sheriff’s Office only recently began using the technology.
In August 2025, the commissioners unanimously approved spending $55,153 in federal forfeiture funds to purchase four vehicle-mounted StarChase GPS launchers and one handheld launcher.
StarChase is designed to provide law enforcement officers with an alternative to continuing a high-speed vehicle pursuit. StarChase is essentially a GPS tracking device that deputies can shoot onto a fleeing vehicle. The small tracker sticks to the vehicle and allows law enforcement to follow its location electronically. That can give deputies the option of backing off a high-speed chase and finding the vehicle later, reducing the danger to officers, other drivers and the people in the fleeing vehicle.
When the original StarChase purchase was presented to the commissioners, Sheriff’s Office officials said vehicle pursuits remained a continuing problem and that some of the pursuits in Guilford County had ended tragically.
The original purchase included four Guardian VX vehicle-mounted launchers and one Guardian HX handheld launcher, along with GPS tracking subscriptions, warranties and tracking projectiles.
At an August 2025 meeting, Commissioner Pat Tillman raised questions about high-speed pursuits and whether the goal in some cases should be to immediately apprehend a driver or to locate the vehicle without continuing a dangerous chase.
Sheriff’s Office First Lt. Eric Gordon told the commissioners at that time that Forsyth County had already purchased the devices and went on to describe an instance in which Forsyth authorities were able to provide Guilford County with real-time tracking information that helped officers apprehend a suspect.
The Sheriff’s Office also told commissioners when it made the initial purchase that, after evaluating how well the system worked, it intended to return with a plan for expanding StarChase to additional vehicles.
The three additional tracking devices proposed for purchase Thursday are to be part of that expansion.
The three drones would account for by far the largest portion of the new grant.
The Sheriff’s Office plans to purchase three Parrot ANAFI UKR GOV drones for a total of $52,800. The agenda doesn’t provide details on how the Sheriff’s Office plans to deploy the drones or how many drones the department already owns.
The three electric bikes, which cost a total of $10,200, are designated for use on special event patrols.
The federal Justice Assistance Grant program provides funding to state and local governments for law enforcement and criminal justice purposes.
Greensboro is the lead applicant for this year’s grant, with the Guilford County Sheriff’s Office and High Point Police Department participating as subrecipients. The Sheriff’s Office portion is $74,397.
The item is on the commissioners’ consent agenda. Items on that agenda are almost always approved with no discussion so it’s safe to say that Danny will get his gear.
they need to catch up to us – the precocious kids that escaped fortress cribs, located/consumed every sweet, then get into the unmentionables but sharing graciously with strangers, pets & surfaces.
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$400 each for motorbike helmets…??
I bought a brand new top brand Bell helmet just a few years ago for $100, at that place just off Hwy 29.
Why are taxpayers having to pay four times the going rate?
they might have comms, lights, infrared & a Pes Candy dispenserr built in like mine
The fix is in.
Our local govt is not doing anything well. Squandering money extorted from the taxpayer.
Can the sheriff’s office provide any details on the success of a years worth of Starchase use. Vehicles tracked and arrests made?
Also the use of this technology will eliminate how many deputy positions?
Outstanding use of our tax dollars! Dream up some more creative ideas for waste.
Have no problem with these expenditures which will soon allow Sheriff Phil Byrd to get more criminals off the roads of Guilford County? We need this technology to replace all the vacant Guilford County Deputy Sheriff’s Positions that have occurred under the rein of current Guilford County Sheriff Danny Rogers! Guess the County’s purchase of all those Cowboy Hats for the Deputies didn’t do much for reducing our crime rates?