Original Recording Date: April 3, 2024
Host John McLeod sits down with Philip Miller, a Medicolegal Death Investigator with the Oklahoma Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. Believed to operate one of the nation's premier full-scale drone programs housed within a state medical examiner’s office, Philip shares his journey from childhood aviation dreams to integrating specialized UAS technology into death scene processing. 

The conversation focuses on the practical benefits that drones offer medicolegal investigators, ranging from mapping fatal crash scenes with centimeter accuracy in minutes to using thermal payloads to locate scattered evidence or victims. Philip outlines how livestreaming feeds via DroneSense allows off-site doctors and command staff to gain immediate situational awareness and first-person fly-through views of complex scenes. Furthermore, he addresses key challenges early adopters face, such as regulatory compliance, program communication, and overcoming public surveillance fears through proactive community engagement. 

As public safety agencies expand their drone operations, medicolegal death investigation represents a critical, emerging frontier. Philip Miller’s work demonstrates how integrating aerial imagery into death investigations speeds up scene clearance, protects field personnel in dangerous environments, and provides unprecedented documentation accuracy for medical examiners, families, and the justice system.