Victorville — The Victorville City Council on Oct. 7 voted unanimously to award a professional services agreement to Brink Drones Inc. to implement a drone-as-first-responder (DFR) program and approved a budget amendment to use Supplemental Law Enforcement Services Fund (SLESF) monies not to exceed $831,929.18 for the first phase of the program.

Council members said the new program is intended to speed situational awareness, increase officer safety and allow rapid delivery of emergency payloads such as automated external defibrillators (AEDs).

The DFR program will begin with three drones placed at the police station and at Fire Stations 311 and 312. Staff said the system will integrate with Victorville’s computer-aided dispatch (CAD), the city’s ShotSpotter gunshot-detection system and the city’s automatic license-plate reader (ALPR) network. City staff and Brink representatives said they expect the system to be fully integrated and operational in early 2026.

Why it matters: Council members and presenters framed the purchase as a public-safety tool that can reduce time-to-first-eyes on scene — Brink cited industry data of “about 70 seconds” to get a drone on-scene after dispatch — and said drones can clear some calls without sending personnel, freeing deputies for calls that require in-person response.

What the council approved
- A professional services agreement with Brink Drones Inc. to deploy the Drone-First-Responder program.
- Resolution 25-070, amending the FY 2025–26 budget to authorize use of SLESF funds up to $831,929.18.
- Authority for the city manager and city attorney to make non-substantive contract changes if needed.

How the system will work
City staff and Brink described a system of battery-recharging ground nests and robotic charging stations positioned so drones can launch autonomously in seconds. Brink’s founder, Blake Resnick, described the company’s aircraft and operations: the exterior DFR aircraft cited in the presentation has roughly 42 minutes of flight time on a single battery and a top speed near 50 mph; it carries mission payloads of up to about 2 pounds (Brink listed small AEDs, Narcan and personal flotation devices as examples). Resnick said the aircraft has dual HD imagers, a thermal imager, and a two-way audio/text-to-speech capability; the vendor also offers a “public transparency portal” that can display flight counts, response times and flight paths.

Deputy City Manager Tony Camargo and others said the first phase will place three drones at strategic locations determined by call-volume analysis; staff will evaluate whether to expand coverage after initial deployment. City staff said licensed, FAA-certified pilots from the police department will operate the DFR system.

Safety, privacy and regulation
Brink representatives said the system is engineered without Chinese-manufactured components and that all video and data storage are CJIS-compliant and hosted in AWS GovCloud. Resnick said the company supports integration with evidence storage platforms such as Evidence.com and provides end-to-end encryption for live feeds.

The presentation addressed Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) rules. Company and staff representatives said most drone operations in the U.S. are governed by FAA Part 107 and that beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) operations historically required expensive ground radar or visual observers; more recent FAA approvals for ADS-B-based solutions (ADS-B radios priced at roughly $400) have reduced that barrier, the presenters said. Brink said regulatory-assistance services to prepare FAA waivers would be included in the contract.

Council questions and operational clarifications
Council members asked detailed operational and procurement questions. Brink and city staff responded that:
- Average on-scene times will be similar to industry figures cited (about 70 seconds). (Councilmember Godin asked this at 4471.)
- The system’s batteries are expected to recharge from roughly 10% to 90% in about 25 minutes; shorter top-offs take less time. (Discussed at 4503–4513.)
- Payload items such as the AED are recoverable and serviceable and that consumable items and spare parts are covered by the vendor’s maintenance plan. (Answered at 4502–4503 and 4524–4533.)
- Drones can be set to record only during missions; recording and public access policies are programmable and staff emphasized a public-transparency portal for flight logs. (Privacy discussion at 4119–4162.)
- Flight operations include built-in cellular (4G LTE) telemetry with multi-carrier SIMs; aircraft have an automated “return to nearest nest” failsafe if contact is lost. (Explained at 4947–5003.)

Implementation and next steps
City staff said that if the council’s motion was approved, the next steps would include finalizing the contract, coordinating training between Brink and designated police pilots, and integrating the DFR system with CAD, ShotSpotter and ALPR systems. Staff projected an operational target of early 2026 and said the contract term under consideration was three years with an option to extend; hardware upgrades were included in the vendor’s standard support package at roughly the contract mid-term.

Council reaction and vote
Multiple council members praised the technology and the company’s presentation. Councilmember Jones, who asked multiple technical questions during the presentation, led extended comments praising the system’s local integration (4592–5321). The motion to award the contract and appropriate the SLESF funds was moved by Mayor Becerra and seconded by Councilmember Jones. The clerk recorded unanimous approval (Godin: Yes; Irving: Yes; Jones: Aye; Mayor Pro Tem Herriman: Yes; Mayor Becerra: Yes). The motion passed unanimously.

Ending note
Staff said the program will begin with three launch sites and that the city will re-evaluate coverage and potential expansion after operational data are collected during the initial contract term.