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Federal Way committee forwards drone-as-first-responder pilot to council after extended briefing
Summary
Police presented a proposal to pilot a Drone-as-First-Responder program—two docks and two drones using Skydio/Axon—funded in year one by asset-forfeiture funds; council members raised privacy, FAA waiver, cost and data-ownership questions and unanimously forwarded the item to the Jan. 6, 2026 council meeting for final approval.
Federal Way police officials presented a detailed plan on Dec. 16 to implement a Drone-as-First-Responder (DFR) pilot, and the committee voted to forward the proposal to the Jan. 6, 2026 council meeting for a final decision.
Commander Mike Coffey described DFR as a system of docked, networked drones that can be dispatched remotely to provide "eyes on scene" in under two minutes in some agencies. Coffey said the recommended vendor partnership is Skydio (hardware/software) integrated through the city's current Axon Master Service Agreement; the proposal would begin with…
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