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Lorain council approves emergency contract for unmanned drones after extended debate on privacy, cost and timeline
Summary
Council approved an emergency ordinance authorizing a contract for unmanned drones (Flat Group Inc) after extended questions about device types, FAA rules, data retention, insurance and funding; the first-year cost will use ARPA funds with ongoing costs from the police levy, council members said.
Lorain City Council voted Dec. 1 to authorize the safety service director to enter into an agreement with Flat Group Inc for equipment, software and services to deploy unmanned drones, passing emergency legislation after extended public and council discussion.
Council members and staff described two drone types: larger, dispatcher-deployed drones that can quickly reach incident scenes and smaller tactical units used by officers in the field. A city official said the larger drones would operate under 200 feet so…
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