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Council approves two‑year drone-as‑first-responder contract with Flock up to $300,000
Summary
The council voted 5–0 to waive bidding and authorize a two‑year sole‑source agreement with Flock Group for a drone‑as‑first‑responder program, funded at roughly $150,000 per year; staff emphasized privacy protections and a public transparency portal.
Manhattan Beach on Feb. 3 approved a two‑year agreement with Flock Group (Flock/Aerodrome) to establish a drone‑as‑first‑responder (DFR) program for the police department, authorizing the city manager to execute a contract not to exceed $300,000.
Police Chief Rachel Johnson introduced the item and said the technology would allow the department to get video and situational awareness to first responders more quickly. The department showed results from demonstrations and peer agencies: in a local demo the drone averaged about 2 minutes, 17 seconds to arrive and was first on scene roughly 93% of the time; the police presenters said other agencies with established DFR programs have seen response‑time improvements and operational benefits.
Lead pilot Araya White and the department’s unmanned air systems manager described uses including search and rescue, de‑escalation, traffic monitoring and fire support. The recommended turnkey agreement includes hardware, FAA‑waiver support, training, hardware refreshes and an online community transparency portal that logs flights, flight paths and purpose for public review.
Staff noted the contract would be funded from state law enforcement service funds and unreserved funds ($150,000 budgeted in year one and a similar amount in year two were identified by staff). The department emphasized privacy and policy safeguards and said its operations would follow Manhattan Beach Police Department Policy 605 and FAA requirements; the community portal will make flight logs and reasons available to the public.
The council voted unanimously (5–0) to waive formal bidding and authorize the city manager to finalize the two‑year agreement with Flock Group not to exceed $300,000. Staff estimated an 8–12 week implementation period after contract execution for permitting, hardware installation and training.
Attributions: Presentation and operational details were provided by Police Chief Rachel Johnson, the unmanned aircraft systems manager (Lt. Justin Hidalgo, introduced by the chief), and lead pilot Araya White. The vendor representative participated in a demo described to council.
