A passerby driving past the SugArena in Iberia Parish may have noticed two unidentified flying objects hovering above the event center Monday afternoon.

Luckily for them, the aerial objects were only just drone demonstrations Sheriff Tommy Romero and deputies with the Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office were testing out for the department.

The drones zipped, hovered and even pursued a person as the fully automated drones were inspected by the IPSO.

Although Romero said the department has a drone, the upgraded versions being considered have AI capabilities that allow it to function without any manual control and have many more features than a traditional drone.

“It brings us further into the future,” Romero said. “It’s going to help our deputies respond to certain situations in a safer way.”

Some of those ways include search and rescue, chases and even parade routes. Romero said one of the reasons he had decided to pursue more high-tech drones was due to the recent July 4 shooting in Highland Park, Illinois.

“In a parade where people were trying to enjoy the holiday and a shooter gets on a rooftop, it really upset me what happened,” Romero said. “Now if something like that would happen here we would have the capability to respond to it in a better way.”

In an active shooter situation, the drone would be able to get an overlay of a building before deputies proceed inside. In a situation where a suspect is hiding in a cane field, the drone would be able to easily identify their exact location. In the aftermath of a hurricane, the drone could give a quick assessment of the damage in Iberia Parish.

Romero said the possibilities of drone technology in Iberia Parish were vast, and would continue to help bring the IPSO up to par in modern law enforcement technology.

The drones were purchased from Skydio, one of the leading American drone manufacturers in the country. Jack Smithy with the dronemaking company said Skydio has more than 500 enterprise and public sector customers including the U.S. Department of Defense.

The exact number and type of drones being purchased are still under consideration by Romero and the IPSO, but the sheriff said he wanted to ensure the department will be able to send one out during daytime or nighttime.