Stockton council approves $3.15M amendment to add Flock drones after hours of debate
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Summary
After extensive public comment and council questioning about privacy, ICE access and evidence of effectiveness, Stockton's City Council approved a $3.15 million amendment to the city's Flock contract to add drone capability for first‑responder use. Council and police said footage would be owned by the department and retained 30 days unless saved as evidence.
The Stockton City Council voted 7–0 March 31 to approve a $3,150,000 amendment to its contract with Flock Group Inc. to add a drone-based first‑responder capability, a measure supporters said will speed police situational awareness and critics said will expand surveillance at high cost.
City staff and police officials told council the program would station drones at three city locations, allow near‑instant deployment linked to CAD dispatch, and provide response times as fast as 30 seconds to four minutes depending on range. "These drones will give officers real-time updates on scene so they can better de‑escalate and know what they're walking into," Deputy Chief Kyle Pierce said.
Opponents in the public comment period called the expansion a privacy threat and warned that Flock has shared data with federal immigration enforcement in other jurisdictions. "The state surveillance system is already alarmingly extensive here in Stockton," community member Sarah Connor told the council, urging it to reject the amendment. Several speakers asked for guarantees that data would not be accessed by ICE.
Flock’s regional public‑affairs manager, Lily Ho, told the council the company had implemented a digital guardrail for California that prevents sharing outside the state and that agencies own their footage. "You own your data and you choose who you share with," Ho said.
Police clarified how the footage would be handled. "Video captured by a dispatched drone is owned by the police department," Deputy Chief Pierce said. "If footage isn't needed it will be deleted after 30 days; footage retained as evidence will be uploaded to our evidence management system." He added that state law and local policy limit sharing with federal immigration authorities.
Council members asked for more performance data from the existing Flock license‑plate reader system before expanding drone deployments. Council Member Enriquez said the city already has 120 Flock cameras and asked staff to provide clearer success metrics. Police said LPR systems have helped solve significant arrests and contributed to a higher homicide clearance rate.
Mayor Fugazi summarized the council’s deliberation before the vote, saying council had heard residents’ concerns and obtained assurances about data controls and the program’s first‑responder limits. The council approved the amendment 7–0. The contract includes provisions allowing cancellation if future years’ funding is not identified.
Next steps: staff will finalize contract documents and begin implementation planning; council and police said they will provide additional community briefings and performance data as the program is deployed.
