David Barker recently retired from the Idaho Falls Police Department, following a 29-year career, during which he was certified as a Law Enforcement Officer (LEO) at the Idaho Falls Regional Airport (2008-2019), and most recently served as the Department’s Logistics Officer, Training Coordinator, Quartermaster, and UAS Assistant Team Lead.
David has been involved with recreational radio control (R/C) model aircraft and a member of the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) for over 40 years, and he's served as the President of the Red Baron R/C Modelers, a local R/C aviation club, for over 15 years.
In 2010, David began researching UAS technology for use in public safety, and their related regulations, and once officially approved, worked to build the department's UAS program from the ground up.
David was a certified instructor for Idaho Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST), is an FAA certified Remote Pilot, is TOP Operator Level-1 certified by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), has served on the UAS Technical Advisory Committees (TAC) for Idaho State University and the College of Western Idaho, is an instructor for FEMA’s AWR-345: UAS in Disaster Management course, as administered by the National Disaster Preparedness Training Center (NDPTC) at the University of Hawaii, has served as a Technical Advisor for DRONERESPONDERS, an instructor for DARTdrones, serves as the Administrator of the Idaho Public Safety UAS Council, was a Steering Committee Member for the Law Enforcement Drone Association (LEDA), is an FAA Safety Team (FAASTeam) Representative and Drone Pro, and operates his own drone service provider business, David Barker Drones.
