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Daly City council approves purchase of indoor drones for police; chief cites officer safety and privacy safeguards
Summary
Council voted to authorize the city manager to execute an agreement with Axon to buy Skydio R10 indoor unmanned aerial systems, funded from the police operating budget; the police chief said the devices are intended for indoor visual clearance and will follow California data‑sharing and retention rules.
Daly City’s City Council on July 13 authorized the city manager to execute an agreement with Axon to purchase two Skydio R10 indoor unmanned aerial system (UAS) kits for the police department, council members voted in a roll‑call that was recorded as unanimous among those present.
Chief Christiansen told the council the R10 is a compact, iPad‑sized drone intended for indoor operations that can fly through doorways, avoid obstacles and provide video and two‑way communications to help officers visually clear unclear indoor spaces and support de‑escalation. The two kits include four airframes (two flyable simultaneously, per licensing); the chief said the purchase is available in the current police operating budget at an approximate cost of $73,000 and structured as a five‑year agreement.
Council members asked about likely uses, size, night or low‑visibility operation and legal limits. The chief said deployments would follow existing policy, Fourth Amendment exceptions (consent, warrant, or exigent circumstances), and the department’s digital‑evidence procedures. He said deployments would be limited to officer safety and tactical or crisis responses. The chief explained evidence‑storage and access protocols: all UAS footage would upload to a CJIS‑compliant evidence.com server with multifactor authentication, audited access logs and tiered retention (routine non‑enforcement flights generally retained for weeks to months; enforcement uses retained longer based on the case).
Council member DiGiovanni and others raised constituent concerns about Axon and vendor relationships with federal agencies; the chief responded that the department will comply with the California Values Act and will not share footage with immigration enforcement, and that Axon does not have direct, unmediated access to Daly City’s stored evidence. After a short public hearing (no speaker present), council member DJ Abadi moved to approve the agreement; the motion was seconded by Council member Manalo and passed on a roll‑call vote (DiGiovanni, Perano, Manalo, Mayor Sylvester voted aye). Chief Christiansen thanked the council for its support.
The authorization allows the city manager to execute the Axon agreement and for the police department to procure the R10 kits under the department’s existing policies and oversight.
