The Impact of Police Drones in Chula Vista
Introduction
On a Wednesday afternoon in August, Daniel Posada and his girlfriend were having a heated argument at a bus stop, prompting a 911 call. From a rooftop a mile away, a drone was monitoring the situation.
The Rise of Drone Technology in Law Enforcement
The Consumer Technology Association’s annual trade show featured a panel titled “Wide World of Drones,” where experts discussed the future of drone technology. In March, the World Police Summit also highlighted the growing role of drones in public safety.
Career Opportunities in the Private Sector
The attention on Chula Vista’s drone program has opened doors for its officials in the private sector. William Reber, the architect of the program, became the head of public safety integration at Skydio, a drone company founded by MIT graduates that donated four drones to the city in 2019. In March, Reber transitioned to a new role at Aerodome, another company focused on public safety drone platforms. Retired captain Vern Sallee joined Axon Air, the drone division of the company known for its Taser weapons and police body cameras. Retired captain Don Redmond moved to Brinc, which develops the police drone platform LiveOps.
“My hope is that you’re gonna see more of [these] companies that are here take a much closer look at the value of drones and what the future will hold,” Kennedy told the audience at CES. “It might not be the huge money-maker today, but in the near future it’s going to be.”
Impact on Unhoused Residents
While officials have advanced their careers through the drone program, the city’s hundreds of unhoused residents have felt its immediate impact. During the early pandemic, drones were used to deliver public safety announcements to homeless encampments, a tactic critics compared to those used by police states. The announcements urged people to maintain social distancing and informed them about available services like Covid-19 education materials and sanitation kits.
Ineffectiveness of Drone Communication
As a communication tool, drones did not achieve the desired effect. Sebastian Martinez, a homeless advocate, noted that many unhoused individuals were unaware of Covid-19. “Working with the unhoused is really a person-to-person workspace,” he said. “You can’t develop that continuity or trust with an inanimate object.”
Life in the Encampments
A small encampment near a fenced-off park and a county Health and Human Services Agency office is sometimes home to Daniel Posada and his friend Nancy Rodriguez. “It’s not like I want to be here,” Rodriguez said, expressing a preference for funds to be allocated toward housing, hygiene, and parenting classes.
Frequent Police Raids
Residents of the encampment frequently face raids by CVPD officers. These raids occur so often that a Google Street View vehicle captured an image of police throwing people’s possessions into a dumpster. “There’s no such thing as privacy out here,” Rodriguez said. “The cops will show up and poke their heads into people’s tents as they please.”
The Reality of Drone Surveillance
Chula Vista’s use of police drones has shown that technology does not change the physical landscape but conforms to existing socioeconomic fault lines. A man staying in a tent near Posada recounted being tracked and arrested by a police drone after stealing an ax from Home Depot. The drone followed him through the parking lot and into a bush where he tried to hide. “I was thinking, ‘Oh man, these things can go pretty much anywhere,’” he said. “There’s no way I’m getting away this time.”
Years later, the man still remembers the cold efficiency of the technology. Sweeping broken glass away from his tent, he shrugged and said, “It did its job.”
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Arming drones for policing? What’s next, robot judges!