A public hearing was held on September 15, 2025, regarding a proposed agreement with an acting corporation to provide police department drone services, specifically the Syracuse Police Department's Policy 606 on the use of drones. Multiple community members spoke in opposition to the program, citing concerns about privacy, data security, lack of oversight, and the militarization of policing. No council discussion or votes took place during the hearing.
It's public hearing related to an agreement with acting corporation to provide police department. All righty. So what we're gonna do is if there's anyone for housekeeping that would like to speak, there's yellow cards in the back. Fill out one, please, and turn it and we'll turn it in. And restrooms, if you're looking for a restroom, they're in the back of the building. And when you come up, you'll have two minutes to speak. Please state your name, your address, so that the we have a technology here. And please speak loud enough that she can understand what you're saying. All right. Our first speaker. Barry. You want to say anything for this? Hi, Barry Goodwanter, 232 Riders, Zip Code 13207. I no longer live on Bellevue. Um the renewed policy. Um, sorry, I reviewed the policy that is proposed, uh, which is SPD policy 606, but I also reviewed the policy that existed from 2020, and also the procedure document number 602 from 2020. There has not been any update of that procedure document to date, only the policy document. However, the two documents need to be read together. And right now, procedure document 602, unless it's been updated in the last day, only allows for authorization of line of sight operation of drones. And the documents section does not require any indication of whether it was remote or a line of sight operation. For this reason and others, this program is not ready for approval, and I urge you to delay consideration until a new procedure document is drafted. Several other concerns are addressed. The name of this program in police circles is unfortunate because it gives the impression that drones may be used as a substitute for officer response. Reported statements of SPD command also indicate that there's a desire to use drones for all types of calls, including lower priority calls with no in-process incident or apparent threat of danger. That's not acceptable to me. In my opinion, remotely operated drones could be used for the management of in-process incidents, assessment of on-scity issues for both officers and for the public for active investigations. I there's like two or three speakers. I'd love to be able to see it. But if you have it written, you can give it to the clerk and she'll enter in the okay. Not that many people here. Can you hear me? My name is Lee Cridlin, and I live at 12. I just recently moved, 1204 North Glen Cove Road in Syracuse. Good evening. My name is Lee Cridlin, and I'm part of the Syracuse Peace Council. We were founded in 1936 and are an anti-war and social justice organization. We have been working with other organizations on the issue of drone usage, in particular military usage since 2009. In 2013, we petitioned the Syracuse Common Council to pass a resolution defending civil liberties and declaring that domestic use of drones would not be improved until regulations were developed to protect citizens' rights. Initially, they were to be used first as first responders to assist in high priority calls. Then in April of this year, the Syracuse Police Department extended use to any and all calls. Once again, in July, the department updated regulations and removed language that would have protected Syracuse residents from drone surveillance in their backyards. Unrestricted use of drones by the police is not acceptable. Additionally, there is no way to protect our rights to public protest. There need to be safeguards in place that will prohibit the use of drones in surveillance of demonstrations and other public gatherings. Surveillance of private citizens is a violation of our Fourth Amendment rights and marks a disturbing trend. The Syracuse Peace Council calls for the following. More time for public input into the use of drones by the SPD. Public input on the issue to date has been largely negative, and it is not clear that either the police department or the common council have been listening. And clear policies on the usage of drones need to be developed. Thank you for your time.