OC sheriff gifted with drone

PORT CLINTON — The Ottawa County Sheriff's Office was recently equipped with a new tool to better serve and protect residents. Intrensic, the company previously used by the sheriff's office to purchase GoPro body cameras, donated a drone for law enforcement purposes — at no cost to the taxpayers.Ottawa County Sheriff Steve Levorchick said his deputies provided Intrensic with valuable feedback on their body cameras. The feedback was used to further improve the technology for other law enforcement agencies. Intrensic higher-ups took it upon themselves thank the sheriff's office for their help. "We wanted to give back," Intrensic CEO Kevin Mullens said. "We talked about what we could do, so we decided to come up."The drone can fly in wind as fast as 22mph and its camera is waterproof at depths of more than 30 feet. Additionally, the drone is equipped with GPS technology and features an onboard function that helps the drone automatically return to its takeoff site when the batteries run low. Ottawa County Sheriff Steve Levorchick was pleasantly surprised by the gesture. "I'm speechless," Levorchick said. "This enables us to better serve our community."Levorchick explained how a drone will be a vital tool for his office. "Ottawa County has more boats, marinas and lake frontage than any other county in the state of Ohio," Levorchick said. "This enables us to more thoroughly search shorelines if someone goes missing or is in need of help,"Levorchick continued: "It's also about transparency and community policing. (With the drone,) we can show what these brave men do. We're happy to use this device because it will make the citizens safer, and that's one of the goals of the sheriff's office." Reach reporter Patrick Pfanner at pfanner@sanduskyregister.com, follow him on Twitter @PatPfanner and follow the Register at Facebook.com/SanduskyRegisterIntrinsic, the company previously used by the sheriff's office to purchase GoPro body cameras, donated a drone to the Ottawa County Sheriff's Office.Ottawa County Sheriff Steve Levorchick and Intrensic CEO Kevin Mullins discuss the drone donated to the sheriff's office.