Show Low council approves Flock Safety drone-as-first-responder contract

Mayor John Leach Jr. and the Show Low City Council on a unanimous vote approved a three-year contract with Flock Safety to deploy a drone-as-first-responder system that staff says can provide aerial, near-immediate situational awareness to first responders.

City staff presented the contract terms and operational details during the council meeting. The city will pay $49,999 plus $4,250 in taxes for the first year with an option to renew for $150,000 plus $12,750 in taxes for each of the two subsequent years; the agreement includes a 60-day opt-out period for testing and evaluation.

Staff said the system integrates autonomous flight control, artificial-intelligence analysis and links to automated license-plate readers and the city records management system. “The ability to provide an aerial view and provide pre-arrival intelligence to first responders will help increase officer safety and minimize liability to the city,” said Mister Westover, who presented the proposal.

A three-minute video from Scottsdale Police (played for the council) described local uses of a similar system. The video’s speaker, identified as the Scottsdale Police Chief, said, “The drone as first responder is one of the most exciting moves in technology. Our ability to get overhead in 45 seconds and start giving real time intel is remarkable.”

Westover told the council the DFR unit is a self-contained system with automated battery swaps, recording and logging features and the ability to transfer footage automatically. He said the vendor handles FAA certificates and that the agreement was presented as a sole-source procurement.

Council members discussed officer safety and cost. Mayor Leach moved to approve the contract; Councilmember Adams seconded. The motion passed unanimously.

The contract includes a 60-day evaluation window; if the city continues, staff said the system would be deployed as part of the police department’s operational tools. No implementation schedule or start date was stated in the meeting record.

The council did not adopt new policy language at the meeting beyond approval of the contract; Westover said the system’s flights and logs would be subject to audit and public records requests.

The decision follows demonstrations and conversations with other Arizona agencies that have adopted DFR technology. City staff said the vendor discounted first-year pricing to make the program more affordable for a small agency.