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San Rafael advisory committee backs funding request for drones that can enter buildings and field-replace batteries
Summary
After reviewing the Police Departments AB481 military-equipment report and a 2025 Drone First Responder program summary, the committee recommended that the City Council fund additional drone capabilities (interior-entry and trunk/battery-swap drones); motion passed with one abstention.
San Rafael The Police Advisory Committee recommended on April 15 that the City Council approve funding for additional drone capabilities after hearing the departments annual military-equipment report under Assembly Bill 481 and an update on the Drone First Responder (DFR) program.
Lieutenant Rhonda Cordderero presented the departments draft AB481 report describing current military-equipment categories the department possesses, funding sources, and use during 2025. "We added our drone-first-responder program in 2025," Lt. Cordderero said, reporting that the DFR responded to 113 calls for service between Oct. 30 and Dec. 31, 2025, and noting that the department now has multiple licensed operators and additional drones on order.
Cordderero listed the categories of equipment the department holds and said most are purchased from the general fund. She told the committee that categories 7, 10 and 12 equipment were used only for training and range work in 2025, while category 1 (unmanned aerial vehicles) was used operationally under mutual-aid and DFR deployments.
Committee members asked detailed questions about operational limits and policy. Member Kamina asked whether officers had conducted formal comparisons of enforcement outcomes (citations versus warnings) or tracked where drones are deployed and to whom. Cordderero said the agency has codified policy restricting drone use to life-safety events and crimes in progress and that the department maintains an equipment inventory and a complaint form on its transparency page.
Public commenters urged strong oversight and data reporting so the community can see who DFRs are deployed for, where and why. One commenter called for inclusion of RIPA-style performance measures and cautioned about privacy concerns if drones are flown over neighborhoods without transparent operational rules.
After discussion the committee voted to recommend that the City Council approve funding for an additional class of drones that can enter buildings, and for "trunk" drones or systems enabling field battery swap or rapid redeployment. The motion passed by roll call with one abstention (Member Rodas).
What happens next: The committee recommendation will be forwarded to the City Council for consideration during the budget and procurement cycle. Staff said any new procurement of military-class equipment requires council authorization and, if necessary, policy updates.
The committee requested that staff report back with performance indicators and community-facing data about drone deployments, and that procurement planning consider leasing options and language-access needs for operators.
