Police use drone to catch escaped Washington prisoner in Beaverton

After escaping from a prison in Washington, a man was caught by a law enforcement drone while fleeing a traffic stop in Beaverton.

Beaverton police stopped 32-year-old Dean Allen Bromley for a traffic violation near the Elmonica MAX station on Sunday, June 23. The suspect, from The Dalles, was wanted on a felony warrant for escaping from the Washington State Department of Corrections.

Bromley initially identified himself as Leroy Miller. When he was unable to provide his age to officers, police attempted to detain him for giving false information — prompting Bromley to flee on foot.

Officers quickly set up a perimeter and called for drone support. Washington County Deputies from the Remote Operated Vehicle Team (ROVT) responded, deploying a drone to locate Bromley hiding in heavy brush.

The ROVT is an interagency unit composed of officers from the Hillsboro Police Department, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office and the Beaverton Police Department. The team includes 12 members trained to operate 25 drones and an avatar robot, a tracked vehicle equipped with a camera and a two-way communication device for building searches.

Bromley was taken into custody and lodged at the Washington County Jail.