A 911 call gets answered and, in under a minute, a drone is already overhead. That single detail forces a bigger question: can public safety technology make policing both more effective and more ethical at the same time? PepperBall CEO Bob Plaschke sits down with Captain Abram Ayana from the Brookhaven Police Department, the leader behind some of the most forward-thinking programs in American policing, to find out what’s real, what’s hard, and what other agencies can actually learn from it. 

We start with the human side. Ayana walks  through why he joined law enforcement, what the academy does and doesn’t prepare you for, and why field training officers are the backbone of good policing. He also speaks candidly about stress, burnout, and the reality of drawing a weapon, including how training and repetition are meant to create calm decision-making, not aggression. 

Then Ayana gets into innovation with guardrails: Brookhaven’s mental health co-responder program with licensed clinicians, peer support for officers, and drones and first responders paired with tools like Live 911, cameras, and license plate readers. 

The conversation then turns to  community trust, transparency, and the tension around surveillance, including why Brookhaven limits drone use to 911 calls and why sitting down with the ACLU matters. If you care about ethical policing, de-escalation, real-time crime centers, and practical public safety reform, this conversation is for you. 

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