The Cooper River Bridge Run, an annual 10K race held in Mount Pleasant and Charleston, South Carolina, draws tens of thousands of participants each year.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) worked to secure the race, which takes place in and around the Port of Charleston. Due to the pandemic, the annual race was held twice within a six-month period, in September 2021 and again in April 2022.
SLED utilized Dedrone technology via Threat Management Group (TMG) to secure the airspace for runners and spectators during both events. Using funding from the 2020 Port Security Grant Program (PSGP), SLED used the Smart Airspace Security solution, deploying mobile Dedrone Sensors on marine vessels and installing the sensors around the bridge in a static configuration to ensure wide-area security.
During the 2021/2022 events, three drones were intercepted and SLED was able to quickly de-escalate the threat. The detection technology helped ensure the safest and most secure events in the history of the 10K race, the third largest of its kind in the United States.