Overview
- City council’s Public Health, Safety and Equity Committee heard hours of testimony on Wednesday and voted to send the Skydio contract to the full council without recommendation after dozens of residents packed the chamber and overflow room.
- If the full council approves the contract on July 16, city staff say a free 75-day trial would begin as soon as July 20 in the Fourth Precinct with drones launching from Fire Station 14 and streaming live video to Minneapolis 911 and responding officers.
- City and police officials describe the pilot as a tool to give rapid aerial situational awareness so dispatchers and crews can clear some low-priority calls without sending a squad and shorten response times.
- Officials proposed specific limits: no random surveillance, no facial recognition, no weapons on drones, seven-day deletion for non-evidentiary footage, and a public flight transparency dashboard, with operations constrained by Minnesota law governing police drone use.
- Residents and advocacy groups raised civil‑liberties concerns about surveillance, Skydio’s military contracts and possible federal access to footage; neighbors warned the trial could deepen distrust and called instead for investments in schools, housing and other services.