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Sterling Heights council approves five-year Drone-as-First-Responder contract with privacy safeguards promised
Summary
Sterling Heights council voted to approve a five-year contract to deploy a Drone-as-First-Responder (DFR) system, saying the $678,822.40 purchase will be covered by previously budgeted funds and public-safety forfeiture proceeds. Council and staff emphasized privacy controls, a public transparency dashboard and a department privacy order to be finalized before deployment.
Sterling Heights' City Council approved a five-year contract on a voice vote to buy and operate a Drone-as-First-Responder (DFR) program from Axon Enterprise and to contract electrical work for docking stations, council announced.
Deputy Chief Ken Pappas presented the program as a rapid-launch tool that will support police, fire and public works by delivering on-scene aerial situational awareness more quickly than the department's existing operator-dispatch model. Pappas said drones will launch from fixed docking stations, remain horizon-facing while en route and begin recording only once on scene; he said the drones will not use facial recognition or biometrics.
Pappas said the first-year cost of the program was presented to council…
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