Dec. 19—SUNBURY — Shikellamy High School Law Enforcement Club members were given the opportunity to witness a Pennsylvania State Police drone in action Monday and listen to a member of the Special Emergency Response Team (SERT).

Cpl. Matthew Knock, a member of the team, who specializes in drones, spoke to 40 of Shikellamy Police Chief Shawn Williams’ law enforcement club students Monday morning.

Knock explained and showed drone footage of various situations where SERT members were called in on incidents for the state police.

“What these men and women do in the state police is critical,” Williams said. “These are the people who lay outside at 2 a.m. for hours no matter what the weather is. They are involved in the most high-risk situations to make sure we are all safe.”

Knock explained the use of drones in the state police and how they can zoom in and capture a person’s face, license plate, or any details they may need to identify an individual that police are investigating.

Knock took students outside in the rainy conditions Monday and put the nearly $10,000 state police drone up in the air while showing students some of the capabilities.

The drone was lifted above the Shikellamy High School and Knock showed students on his police-issued vehicle television monitor how the drone worked.

The drone zoomed on the various sections of Sunbury, the stadium and even as far as Shamokin Dam, while students looked on in amazement.

“This is so cool,” 16-year-old junior Olivia Bosserman said. “I always wanted a drone, but to see how the state police ones operate was just a great experience. I never knew how far the cameras could reach.”

Freshman Raheemah Smith, 14, agreed.

“These are amazing to see in action,” Smith said. “I am impressed how it just got lifted in the air and was able to see so far away.”

Knock said the drone was also flying through the area of the high school and he was showing students the various functions, including the thermal option, which shows the heat of a person when there is no light outside, or inside.

Knock showed a video where a drone was used outside and inside a home to detect where individuals were based on the drone’s capability to show body heat.

Junior Class President Logan Wiest said learning about the drones was a good experience for students.

“The guest speakers that are out doing these type of jobs in law enforcement give us a great real-life look at what they do,” he said. “It was a great experience for all of us.”

Williams, a retired corporal in the state police, said he was thankful to Knock and the state police for their assistance with the law enforcement program.

“Having Corporal Knock present the latest technologies used by law enforcement is extremely beneficial to those in our Law Enforcement Club. Our students can relate to the latest drones, computer-aided software and camera capabilities,” Williams said. “It was my pleasure to include students from the Robotics Club and Special Education Department and I was very impressed with the presentation and demonstration.

“Once again, it says a lot about our law enforcement partners that come to our school without hesitation,” he said.