Mr. David J. “DJ” Smith – Bio DJ Smith is a 23 year veteran of the Virginia State Police and currently works as a Technical Surveillance Agent. He has worked in the field of Technical Surveillance for almost 30 years and has performed these duties at the local, state, and federal level as well as for the private sector. He is a 1992 graduate of East Tennessee State University with a double major in Criminal Justice and Psychology. He previously worked as a Public Safety Officer for the Johnson City Police Department in Johnson City, TN, and in 1997, he joined the Virginia State Police as a Trooper and in 2000 was promoted to the rank of Technical Surveillance Agent.
DJ has served on various subcommittees commissioned by the Virginia General Assembly focused on issues such as body worn cameras, and UAS integration. DJ currently serves on the Safe & Secure Commonwealth Sub-Panel focused on UAS/Counter UAS implementation and legislative issues relating to operations in the Commonwealth and on the Virginia Tech Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership (MAAP) as a law enforcement technical advisor. DJ has served as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) on various technologies for the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate, including the System Assessment and Validation for Emergency Responders (SAVER) Program. As part of that activity, he participated in the First Responder Robotic Operational System Test (FFROST) which evaluated various UAS platforms for use in public safety. DJ participates in the DroneResponders Public Safety Alliance as Counter UAS Lead/Technical Expert, and the Alliance for Drone Safety and Security Solutions as an Advisory Member. Further, he is regularly invited to participate in industry events. In 2019, he presented at the semi-annual Counter UAS Summit held in Washington, DC, and at the Virginia Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) Workshop on Counter UAS Strategy and Technologies in Hanover, Virginia. 2020 Commercial UAV Expo Americas speaker on “Law Enforcement sUAS Operations and Best Practices”.
