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St. Paul police drone program expansion blocked
The St. Paul Police Department will not expand its drone program after widespread backlash from the public. FOX 9's Emily Pofahl has the details.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - St. Paul police have been sending drones to respond to calls ahead of officers for months, but a push to grow that program hit a wall Wednesday when the city council blocked a grant application to purchase more of the technology.
St. Paul drone program under fire
Since June, St. Paul police have deployed drones as part of the city’s docked drone program in addition to officers responding to calls for help. The drones launch from three locations around the city and, according to the department, can arrive on scene five to seven minutes faster than officers. The department primarily uses the technology to reduce risk to first responders, find missing people and map out crime scenes, according to the department’s website. The drones come from tech company Skydio.
What we know:
St. Paul police used a drone to locate and rescue an autistic child struggling in a pond Monday evening. The department said they received a 911 call around 4:30 p.m. about a child in a pond who appeared to be struggling to get out. Police dispatched their drone, which arrived two minutes before the first officers arrived on the scene. The drone's aerial view guided Officer Adisak Sae Ma directly to the child, who police said had wandered away from home.
"Thank god the drone was up in the air and was able to give us guidance where the kid was at," said Sae Ma.
St. Paul police say the rescue is proof of why the program matters. Sgt. Matt St. Sauver said the drone kept officers from having to search a wooded area they rarely patrol.
"It keeps the officers from having to drive around and locate this pond, which was back in kind of a wooded area, where not many officers go to," said St. Sauver.
St. Sauver added that he can't imagine losing a tool that makes the department and the city safer.
"I couldn't imagine taking away an item that would make our department and make the city of St. Paul safer," said St. Sauver.
City council blocks expansion
Protesters packed Wednesday's city council meeting, concerned about police using drones for surveillance and wary about Skydio's federal military contracts. The council was set to vote on whether to expand the program, but the effort was quickly shut down.
St. Paul City Council President Rebecca Noecker said she needs more information from the department before allowing more drones in the city.
"We will not be authorizing this grant application," said Noecker.
According to St. Paul's written policy governing drone use, the unmanned aircraft are only deployed for calls for service and not for general surveillance. They are not allowed to collect data on protests or public demonstrations, there is no facial recognition and privacy guidelines limit how data is used.
What they're saying:
Not everyone is convinced the technology is worth it. Cedar Larson, a protestor at the meeting who opposes the drone program, said she expects the department to do the police work without the technology.
"I don't think that it's actually saving lives," Larson said. "The same effects could be solved without this use of dangerous technology."
What we don't know:
The city council during the meeting Wednesday what specific information it needs from the police department before it would consider revisiting the grant application or any future expansion of the program.
The Source: Information in this story comes from the St. Paul Police Department and the St. Paul City Council meeting.