The Portland Police Bureau appears to have support from city leaders to expand its drone program, despite some public questions of whether the flying devices pose surveillance and privacy concerns.
During a half-hour discussion Wednesday, bureau officials asked Portland City Council for the OK to expand their unmanned aerial systems policies, effectively allowing them more opportunities to send the devices into the air during investigations.
Bureau officials also asked for $98,000 to spend on training and equipment. Those funds would come from existing pots, such as the money the bureau collects during asset forfeiture.
Commissioners seemed receptive. They made no amendments to the bureau’s proposal and passed it on first reading. It needs to pass a second reading in the coming weeks.
Commissioner Dan Ryan at one point encouraged police to start publishing data about the demographics of Portlanders whose calls resulted in drone use.
Sgt. James Defrain, the program’s supervisor, acknowledged public concern multiple times in the presentation. He and Portland Police Chief Bob Day said the bureau’s new policies will mirror state laws already in place.
“I want to recognize, certainly, any time we step into the space of technology and law enforcement that there be a high degree of oversight and transparency,” Day said. He said he wanted citizens to know officers won’t operate “outside of the boundaries already established by the state.”
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The bureau’s proposed language is nearly identical to policies in the manuals of police agencies in Gresham, Oregon City, Tigard and Tualatin. Drone use requires probable cause. They’re also prohibited from “random or indiscriminate” surveillance and use in crowd control — barring a “life safety-critical incident.”
Portland officers are eying drones for future missions, such as crackdowns on street racing and retail theft, Defrain said. Drones have already helped track people fleeing in cars and running into residential neighborhoods, he said.
Since April 2023, the bureau has operated drones on a limited basis. Their use has ostensibly been relegated to search-and-rescue missions, investigations involving traffic or explosives, and special emergencies like a hostage situation.
Between June 2023 and July 2024, the bureau used drones on an average nine missions per month. The bureau has 16 trained pilots, Defrain said.
According to public data, police have deployed drones in 129 calls between June 2023 and July 2024. Of those, 34 involved traffic incidents, 25 aided the execution of a search warrant.
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Fifty-one times, the data showed, police deployed drones during “exigent” circumstances. The bureau’s manual defines exigent circumstances as a situation “when there is probable cause for search or seizure and police need to act swiftly to prevent danger to life, the imminent destruction of evidence, or a suspect’s escape.”
Officers have reportedly already used drones in ways that raised eyebrows among some citizens who spoke against the policy changes. One incident, which was raised during the council meeting multiple times, involved police in August 2023 using a drone to fly into a home while chasing a man suspected of felony robbery. Police had reportedly spent two hours calling to the man inside the house before using a drone to “clear” the scene, according to the police report.
“Drone operators used the device to search the apartment remotely without having to place officers or the public at risk,” an officer later wrote. The incident was first reported by online publication RedTail, which covers technology and artificial intelligence.
Dan Handelman, of the police watchdog group Portland Copwatch, expressed concern during the hearing. He urged police to track and report demographic data in the bureau’s drone use.
“We urge the council to review this policy before approving the wholesale expansion of the program,” he said.