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Oakland ad hoc hears drone-privacy concerns, OPD cites policy banning sharing with ICE
Summary
During the ad hoc, a speaker cited Oakland ordinance 9.65 and California AB 481 and raised concerns about drone data being used for immigration enforcement; an OPD official said policy 4.15 prohibits using drones to assist ICE or HSI investigations.
Members of Oakland's ad hoc on militarized equipment discussed drone privacy and the legal framework that shapes the commission's review.
A participant identified as Jennifer reminded the ad hoc that two legal texts frame the work: Oakland municipal ordinance 9.65 (which sets local review requirements) and California AB 481 (state law that also affects review obligations). She said the two questions the ad hoc must grapple with are policy-review questions and inventories, and recommended separating new-equipment requests from the statutory review of existing equipment.
An OPD official stated that the department is governed by "policy 4.15," which, the official said, "strictly prohibits" using drones, personnel or other technologies to assist federal immigration enforcement (HSI/ICE). The official emphasized that OPD would not voluntarily share drone-derived information with ICE and advised community members to reference policy 4.15 online for details.
Some participants raised indirect-sharing concerns, noting past OPD collaborations with federal agencies (for example, U.S. Marshals) that could have downstream immigration implications; Jennifer suggested next steps to clarify where inventories and policy recommendations should be split and how to proceed to full commission review.
The ad hoc directed commissioners to incorporate the discussion and the department's forthcoming rebuttal into a redraft to be returned to the full commission later in September or the first meeting in October.
