Case Study: Hagerstown Police Department stops dirt‑bike gang and multiplies force with Axon Air (Axon)

Hagerstown Police Department - Customer Case Study

Hagerstown Police Department, a roughly 45,000‑person city near I‑81 and I‑70, faced “big‑city” crimes—an open‑air drug market and a violent dirt‑bike gang—while its force shrank from about 110–115 officers to roughly 90. To overcome manpower shortfalls and rising public‑safety threats, the department partnered with Axon and adopted the Axon Air drone system to extend their operational reach.

Using federal grant funding HPD acquired 15 drones and, working with Axon, stood up an Axon Air program in three months that integrated live drone feeds, flight tracking and shared situational awareness across agencies. The capability proved a force multiplier: within two weeks drones tracked the dirt‑bike gang to hideouts and led to more than a dozen arrests, reduced the visual coverage that once required ~20 officers, and played a critical role in a multi‑agency manhunt—demonstrating clear, measurable improvements in response and case outcomes thanks to Axon.

Hagerstown Police Department

Nick Varner

Detective and Drone Program Manager