Milwaukee Police present new drone policy to FPC, emphasize safety limits and data retention

The Milwaukee Police Department presented a new standard operating instruction for unmanned aerial systems (UAS) to the Fire and Police Commission on March 20, outlining where and how drones would be deployed and how footage will be stored.

MPD officials told commissioners the program aims to “provide life saving situational awareness that enhances citizen and officer safety,” and described use cases including land and water search and rescue, active‑threat response, event and crowd management, investigative evidence collection and counter‑UAS measures for illegal drone use.

Inspector David Feldmeier, who oversees the patrol bureau, and Sergeant Christopher Boss, who leads MPD’s UAS work, said the department has tested the technology locally and is formalizing policy before expanded deployment. Boss said the department has conducted roughly 250 flights totaling about 55 hours of flight time in pilot testing and training, and that about 60 officers have completed basic pilot training so far. The department said it expects to train additional pilots and build a permanent team.

“Imagine for a moment that you were dispatched to a shots fired call ... If you could somehow see around that corner before you took that turn, and you got a feel for what you were coming into, could you make a better decision to save that individual's life?” Boss told commissioners when describing one rationale for drone use.

MPD said the policy will limit uses and require supervisory approval for certain deployments. Feldmeier said the department has drawn heavily from model policies and guidance from outside groups and associations in drafting the SOI. He told commissioners, “We will not arm this equipment.”

On privacy and civil liberties, commissioners pressed MPD about protest monitoring, facial recognition and public access. Feldmeier said the vendor the department has worked with does not include facial recognition in its product and that MPD is not planning to use facial recognition with drone footage. He added that use of facial recognition by MPD would be subject to a separate policy process and additional oversight if the department elected to acquire that capability.

Feldmeier also told the commission that drone video would be uploaded to the same evidence platform the department uses for body‑worn cameras. “It's uploaded to evidence.com, just the same way that our body cam is,” he said; MPD said retention will follow existing retention schedules for body‑worn camera footage, and that longer retention will occur where law requires preservation for investigations or litigation.

Commissioners asked about transparency and community oversight. MPD said it intends to publish a transparency dashboard and public‑facing materials about deployments; Feldmeier said the presentation included citations to ACLU guidance and to model policies from chiefs’ organizations as templates the department used in drafting the SOI. Commissioners requested the department add a direct reference or link to the ACLU guidance in the SOI and make the materials readily available to operators.

Budget and equipment details: MPD said its initial purchases were funded with asset‑forfeiture monies and that further budget requests for 2026 are being developed with the city budget office. The department said it currently operates two Skydio X10 aircraft and expects an equipment service life of roughly five years with routine maintenance; Feldmeier estimated battery replacement at about $300 per year and quoted a roughly $15,000 list price for an X10. MPD said it ultimately hopes to field roughly 15 trained district operators supported by a core four‑person specialized patrol team.

On usage limits, MPD emphasized drones would be a reactive, not persistent proactive, surveillance tool. Inspector Feldmeier said drones would not be used to continuously monitor an intersection or neighborhood; instead, they would be deployed to ongoing incidents, to provide situational awareness, or to follow a pursuit after a vehicle crash where foot flight continues.

The commission did not take a formal vote on the SOI at the meeting. Commissioners asked for additional clarifications and documentation; MPD agreed to add the ACLU reference, to provide details on retention schedules and to prepare materials for public dashboards and internal operator training.