Will these drones ‘revolutionize’ 911 response? L.A. suburb will be first to test
LA TimesA Brinc drone is displayed during a presentation and demonstration of new 911 response drones at the Hawthorne Police Department. The company behind the new drone, Seattle-based Brinc — a tech startup with a 24-year-old chief executive — has boasted it will “revolutionize the public safety landscape.” But law enforcement agencies across Southern California and the country already employ drones for a variety of purposes, including 911 response, and skeptics warn about the risk of “mission creep” when the technology is weaponized or used for surveillance. The Chula Vista Police Department in San Diego County was the first to use drones to respond to 911 calls in 2018 as part of a Federal Aviation Administration pilot program. “Here’s an innovative way to keep police officers on priority calls.” Police departments in Beverly Hills and Irvine also use drones to respond to 911 calls. Stop LAPD Spying Coalition organizer Hamid Khan said his group fought to keep LAPD drones grounded between 2014 and 2017, and there’s still “quite a bit of concern” over their continued use.
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