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Council removes drone language, asks police to return with a formal policy before filling ‘real-time’ positions
Summary
After the police chief asked to create civilian analyst and operator positions for a planned real-time information center, councilmembers demanded a written drone policy; the council struck drone-operation language from job descriptions and tabled related ordinance language pending a policy.
The Gulfport Police Department asked the council to establish civilian positions to staff a planned real-time information center that will aggregate camera feeds, BOLOs and other incident information. The chief described the roles as civilian-enabled positions that would let sworn officers remain on patrol and said the department expects to hire one analyst this year with a plan for additional hires in the future.
Council members raised privacy, oversight and civil‑liberty concerns tied to drone use and public-camera access. “I’m not one that I like big brother,” Councilwoman Ella Holmes Hines said, urging careful policy language and public input. The chief said the department will draft a real-time center policy and consult comparable agencies; he noted one-year trial equipment arrangements previously approved by council under a Motorola program.
City Attorney Jeff Bruni confirmed the council can remove drone operation references from the job descriptions and approve the positions now while the detailed policy is developed. The council agreed to strike language that explicitly permitted the analyst and operator to “operate drones” and to table further ordinance action until a draft policy is presented to council for review. The chief said equipment could be in place by July or August but that background checks and hiring timelines may take months.
Council members tied the job‑description changes to explicit policy requirements: oversight by city leadership, public‑record retention rules and clear limits on when drones may be used. The chief said drone footage would be treated as public record and retained consistent with general orders, and that the department aims to seek public-private partnerships for camera feeds.
No final action was taken to deploy drones; the council amended the job descriptions and laid the drone-related ordinance language on the table pending a written real‑time center policy.
