Los Angeles police have acquired two mini-helicopter drones that were barred by voter backlash from staying with Seattle’s cops — but now they’re facing the same outcries, and an independent police watchdog has stepped in and taken possession.
Seattle authorities were recently forced to give up the two Draganflyer V6 drone choppers due to widespread protests from civil rights and privacy activists. So Los Angeles Police Department officials stepped in and said: We’ll take them.
But now the same type of protests are mounting in Los Angeles, Reuters reported.
So the Los Angeles Police Commission, an independent board that oversees the police force, issued a statement saying the drones would not be used until the LAPD creates and presents for approval a draft policy on how officers would use them.
The drones, which are equipped to cart video camera and night-vision lenses, have been turned over to the commission’s inspector general for safekeeping, Reuters reported.
“They’re hot potatoes, and we’re going to put them in the freezer,” commission president Steve Soboroff said, Reuters reported.
LAPD Commander Andrew Smith, meanwhile, said his force has no intention of using the drones except for the most drastic of criminal investigations.
Seattle police originally bought the drones in 2010 using an $80,000 federal grant, Reuters reported.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.