The Alameda County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, Oct. 27, approved a plan to put two drone docking stations on the roof of the county Fire Department's Station 23 in Cherryland. The docks will house and launch drones for the Sheriff's Office "Drone as First Responder" program, which sends a drone to some emergency calls before deputies arrive.
What was approved
According to the board letter from Sheriff Yesenia Sanchez and Fire Chief William McDonald, the measure is a licensing agreement between the Fire Department and the Sheriff's Office. It runs from Nov. 1, 2026, to Oct. 31, 2036, with two optional five-year renewals, and it costs the county nothing. The letter says the agreement designates the station as a launch site but does not commit the Sheriff's Office to a particular equipment vendor.
The East Bay Times reports that the drones are part of the program run with Flock Safety. The board approved an AeroDome drone system agreement in July 2025. On June 30, 2026, it approved a broader package of public safety technology that includes drone services through Dec. 31, 2027.
Why Cherryland
Two docks are already operating at the Eden Township Substation. The county says those sites cover about 3 square miles of a roughly 6.2-square-mile western unincorporated area. The Station 23 docks are meant to speed up response and extend coverage over Cherryland, Ashland, San Lorenzo and unincorporated Hayward. The approved contract allows for six docking stations in total.
The privacy debate
The Sheriff's Office says drone footage must be deleted from county servers within 60 days unless it is part of a criminal or internal affairs investigation, according to the East Bay Times. Brian Hofer, executive director of the privacy group Secure Justice, told the paper that drones can reduce police shootings. He also warned that the concern is how often they fly. He pointed to San Francisco, where SFPD's drone fleet has grown from six to 63. Earlier: SF's new drone rules and Sonoma County's drone settlement.