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Athens council declines to advance ODOT drone grant after hours of privacy concerns, refers civil-liberties code language to committee
Summary
After extensive public comment voicing privacy and contract concerns, Athens City Council voted not to advance an ODOT Drones for First Responders grant to regular session; council endorsed sending an amendment to Title 3 (advanced technology and civil liberties) back to committee for further drafting and public input.
Athens City Council on Feb. 17 heard more than a dozen public commenters and lengthy council discussion before voting not to advance a proposed application to Ohio's Drones for First Responders (DFR) pilot to regular session.
Council member Sherwood, who introduced the item in the committee of the whole, said the Athens Police Department applied for the ODOT grant and that the city would not pay locally for two years: "for 2 years, the city will not expend any funds on this," he said, adding he would oppose "warrantless surveillance of Athens residents." Sherwood said he supports the pilot only with clear guardrails to govern data retention, access and use.
The mayor and administration described operational uses such as search-and-rescue and scene safety, recounting three recent incidents where a drone would have assisted first responders. The mayor said the city would include policies on retention and access and that the drone…
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