Oakland Police Propose Six Rooftop Drones to Reach 911 Calls First
Oakland police want to station six drones at three rooftop locations so officers at headquarters can send them to emergencies before patrol cars arrive. The Oaklandside reported Thursday on the “drone-as-first-responder” proposal.
By the Bay Area Brief staff · Edited by Seamus McKenna · · 2 min read
Tower of Oakland City Hall against a blue sky. Photo: Almonroth / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped, resized and color-graded). Archive photo of the area; not a photo of the events in this story.
Oakland police want to station six drones at three rooftop locations so officers at headquarters can send them to emergencies before patrol cars arrive. The Oaklandside reported Thursday on the “drone-as-first-responder” proposal.
The Police Commission’s Oct. 22 agenda included an OPD drone presentation. The Oaklandside reported that both the Police Commission and Privacy Advisory Commission approved the proposal last month. The department would place two aircraft at each location so one could replace another while batteries recharge.
The plan has prompted questions about privacy, footage retention and oversight. Under the proposed rules described by The Oaklandside, drones could not be used for general surveillance or immigration enforcement, or solely to monitor people exercising First Amendment rights.
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OPD wants six rooftop drones at three sites to fly to 911 calls before patrols arrive. Police and privacy commissions approved the plan; City Council still must vote.
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