Minneapolis police drone debate sparks privacy concerns

Dozens of community members flooded Minneapolis City Hall Wednesday to express concerns about a proposed drone program for Minneapolis police.

Nearly 50 people signed up to speak at the City Council’s public health, safety and equity committee meeting. Residents filled all of the seats in the council chambers reserved for the public, and an overflow room next door. 

“We just spent months enduring a brutal winter of military-equipped federal occupation and terrorization, and on the heels of that, you wish to provide military-grade drone tech to the cops in our already over-surveilled neighborhoods?” said north Minneapolis resident Will Reely, referring to federal immigration enforcement during Operation Metro Surge. “You can’t be serious.”

Speakers said they don’t trust how the police would use drones, and are concerned the technology could be used as surveillance and lead to invasion of privacy.

Several people also sat in the hallway outside of the council chambers and streamed the hearing. The 1:30 p.m. meeting began with Minneapolis police officials outlining a free, 75-day pilot program that would allow the police department to use drones as “first responders.”

The committee moved to put the pilot program for a vote before the full council on July 16, which will not feature an additional public comment period on the issue. Should the council approve the program, the trial period would begin as soon as July 20.

The project would be conducted in the police department’s Fourth Precinct on the city’s north side, and hopes to reduce 911 response times by using drones to livestream video of potential crime scenes before officers arrive. The drones, which would be equipped with parachutes, police markings and lights, would be provided by Skydio, a California company.

Several community members noted that Skydio is known to supply drones to the Israeli government, which has used the technology during their military campaign against Palestinian civilians in Gaza.

“We see them as weapons of war and mass surveillance, and do not want them to be used to kill or control people at home or abroad,” Minneapolis resident Meredith Aby said of Skydio drones. “The people of Minneapolis do not want Skydio’s blood on its hands.”

More speakers questioned whether Minneapolis police would use the drones for the intended purpose, and questioned whether their use would actually improve safety.

“What I don’t understand is why we would implement a drone program under the guise of public safety,” Avery Winters told council members. “We the people don’t trust the people or the system administering this.”

Before the public comment period, Minneapolis police officials presented the pilot program to the City Council committee, saying that it would improve officer and community safety and help with staffing challenges. Andy Skoogman, chief of staff for the city’s Office of Community Safety, said officers can use drones to determine whether they need to report to a scene, improving the department’s efficiency.

“Drones are not a replacement for police officers, for firefighters, for EMS [Emergency Medical Services] personnel or other first responders,” Skoogman, who is not a police officer, told council members. “They’re simply a tool that helps ensure the right resources are sent to the right call at the right time.”

Thomas Campbell, deputy chief of patrol in Minneapolis police’s special operations division, said the drones would be operated remotely, would only be activated at potential crime scenes, and that their cameras would be pointed away from private property. Footage that isn’t considered evidence would be deleted after seven days, he said. 

Minneapolis police have been using drones for other purposes since 2022, and have a fleet of 29 drones. Officers currently launch drones from the trunks of their squad cars, and deploy them after they’ve been requested by officers who are already present at a scene. The proposed program would allow drones to scope out a scene before officers arrive.

Minnesota law allows local police departments to use drones without a search warrant in specific cases:

• during or in the aftermath of an emergency situation that involves the risk of death or bodily harm to a person;
• at a public event where there is heightened risk to the safety of attendees;
• to collect information from a public area if there is reasonable suspicion of criminal activity, among other situations;
• to document evidence that is at imminent risk of destruction;
• to search for a missing person;
• to counter the risk of a terrorist attack by a specific individual or organization if the agency determines that credible intelligence indicates a risk;
• to prevent the loss of life and property in natural or man-made disasters and to facilitate operational planning, rescue, and recovery operations in the aftermath of these disasters;
• over a private area with the written consent of the occupant or a public area, for officer training or public relations purposes;
• to collect information for crash reconstruction purposes after a serious or deadly collision occurring on a public road;
• to conduct a threat assessment in anticipation of a specific event;
• for purposes unrelated to law enforcement at the request of a government entity provided that the government entity makes the request in writing to the law enforcement agency and specifies the reason for the request and proposed period of use.

Ward 4 City Council Member LaTrisha Vetaw, who represents the area where the pilot program would occur, wrote a legislative directive this spring that prompted the program. At the end of Wednesday’s meeting, she reassured community members that the goal is to reduce response times and limit police interactions with the public.

“This is not surveillance,” Vetaw said. “Someone has to call in for the drone to be dispatched, and the dashboard will be set up where people can track how the drone was being used and what for during the service.”

Committee members asked a few technical questions during the hearing about how the drone program would work, but several of them said they were saving more discussion and personal views of the program for the full council vote next week.