Laurel council hears police requests for ammunition, two Skydio drones and AI analytics; items moved to July 13

Chief Russ Hamill told the Laurel City Council on July 1 that the Laurel Police Department is seeking approval to buy ammunition, two Skydio unmanned aerial systems and a Peregrine AI analytics tool using funds in the adopted FY2027 operating budget.

Hamill said the ammunition purchase would be made through the Maryland state contract (last four digits 0243) and requested $65,000 from account 30152571, “ammunition purchases.” He recommended the mayor and council approve the purchase and noted staff were available for questions.

On the drone proposal, Hamill described a five‑year contract with Skydio (delivered via the department’s Axon contract) to start Laurel’s first “drone as first responder” program. “The technology will allow our department to start its first ever drone as first responder program or DFR,” he said, adding the drones would be housed on city buildings, operated by FAA‑certified personnel and stream live video into the department’s Axon evidence ecosystem.

The Skydio package, Hamill said, is priced at $89,649.60 annually and includes docking stations and Axon integration. He told the council the vendor was selected after site visits with regional UAS teams and bids from three companies; he cited U.S. manufacture and Axon compatibility as deciding factors.

Council members questioned the number of drones and coverage. Councilman Mills suggested buying more or buying in bulk to reduce per‑unit cost; Hamill replied that the department had assessed coverage and that two drones would provide adequate citywide coverage for the intended first‑responder role, while other specialized drones are used for emergency response team operations.

Councilwoman Clark pressed on policy and civil‑liberties safeguards, citing pending state legislation. “I saw that there’s a proposed bill, HB471 … I wanted to understand that more about the policy, before committing to, you know, a close to $500,000 contract,” she said. Hamill said Laurel will follow state law and retention requirements and that he envisions annual public reports and community input, noting the department uses Lexipol for policy templates and has studied neighboring programs.

Hamill and Captain Ivory told the council the Skydio contract includes upgrade and maintenance provisions; Captain Ivory said vendors expect to provide new compatible drones and docks as the platform evolves.

On data analytics, Hamill asked the council to approve a sole‑source, three‑year contract with Peregrine AI at $79,500 annually to aggregate and analyze records management, CAD, body‑worn transcripts and LPR data, and to deduplicate records. He described the system as a pointer index to accelerate investigations and said human analysts would review AI outputs before they were used in cases.

Councilwoman Clark raised concerns about bias, data centralization and security, pointing to a public debate in Durham, N.C.; Hamill said the city owns its data, vendors cannot access it without approval and the department would keep a human‑in‑the‑loop review process.

None of the three items were voted on during the work session; Council President Smith said they will be placed on the agenda for the regular meeting on Monday, July 13, 2026, for formal consideration.

The council asked staff to preserve clarity in vendor agreements on upgrades, data ownership, retention and reporting before the July 13 meeting.