Luis Figueiredo is a seventeen-year veteran police officer with over twenty years in government work. Currently, Luis holds the positions of Narcotics Detective, Chief UAS Pilot & Program Coordinator with the Elizabeth Police Department in Elizabeth, NJ, and a Task Force Officer assigned to Homeland Security Investigations under the Department of Homeland Security.

The Elizabeth Police Department's UAS unit was initiated in 2017 by Luis. Luis was amongst the first in the country to receive a Certificate of Authorization from the FAA to operate in Class Bravo airspace. Luis has assisted over fifty departments throughout the state of New Jersey in developing their own UAS programs by providing guidance with SOPs, equipment purchases, FAA certifications, and training. Luis continues to focus on providing UAS assistance to local, state, and federal partners throughout the Tristate area.

On account of Luis’ vision and innovative program, the Elizabeth Police Department were the first in the country to receive a BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight) waiver for Class Bravo airspace. This waiver allows for the Elizabeth Police Department to successfully operate its Drone as a First Responder program. Luis has successfully expanded the Elizabeth Police Department’s UAS program from one operator to over twelve full-time pilots. These pilots have been trained to provide situational awareness and tactical overwatch for operations ranging from search and rescue, fleeing suspects, accident reconstruction, medical calls, scene documentation, and aerial photography.

Luis’ extensive public safety deployments have logged over one thousand hours of operation on various drone platforms resulting in numerous state and federal award recognitions. Luis' goal is to continue introducing this lifesaving technology to other public safety agencies while increasing the public's knowledge of the key role UASs provide in day-to-day operations and the efficacy of drone-as-a-first-responder (DFR) programs.