Dearborn approves drone pilot, taser purchase and vehicle upfitting for police
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Summary
Council authorized a six-drone Skydio pilot, a five‑year drone contract and a purchase of 100 new tasers from Axon, along with a contract to upfit police vehicles; council and the police chief discussed staffing, privacy protocols and equipment certification.
The Dearborn City Council approved multiple public-safety acquisitions Dec. 7, including a six-drone Skydio pilot for first responders, a five‑year cooperative contract for leased drones, a five‑year purchase plan for 100 Axon tasers and a vehicle-upfitting contract for the police department.
Chief Shahin (police) told the council the Skydio pilot would station six drones across the city to shorten response times and provide live feeds to a planned real-time crime center. "It’s going to allow us faster response times... It provides a live feed to officers in the field in our real time crime center," he said, listing uses such as crowd size assessment, search-and-rescue and crash-scene evaluation. The initial Sourcewell cooperative purchase amount cited in the packet was $294,401.92; later in the meeting council referenced a five‑year contract total of $1,472,009.60 for leasing and operational costs over five years.
Council members asked about privacy, staffing and whether drones would replace officers. Councilwoman Leslie Herrick said residents have privacy concerns and sought assurances on policies. Chief Shahin replied: "We're not gonna be launching the drones to just fly around without a purpose... if we get a 911 call... you might hear a drone overhead prior to the police getting there." He added that the department plans to staff the program with part-time officers and a drone pilot and will not reduce patrol staffing to run the program.
On less-lethal options, the council approved a cooperative purchase of up to $526,746 over five years for 100 tasers and accessories from Axon. The chief described technological improvements and said the devices are intended to preserve life by providing a more effective less-lethal option. "The driving force of this is the preservation of life," he said.
Separately, the council approved a contract to Canfield Equipment Services for upfitting police vehicles: $240,575 for fiscal year 2026 and $250,000 for fiscal year 2027, with renewal options. Purchasing staff explained some vendors were disqualified because of updated pro-upfitter certifications and said they will review bid specifications for future contracts.
All three public-safety procurement items passed with unanimous roll calls. Council directed staff to provide certifications and continued policy updates for drone operations and body-worn or less-lethal device use.
