Police Chief Scott Underwood asked township trustees to amend the 2025 budget and move $110,000 from the police salary account to the department’s capital improvement fund to pay for the drones, docking stations, software integration, training, support and maintenance.
Trustees unanimously approved his request at Monday’s meeting.
The one-time expense will not affect officers’ pay, he said, as the department’s budget includes money for 64 officers but six positions are vacant and will not be filled this year.
The drones will operate under a three-year, $399,000 contract with Georgia-based Flock Safety, he said, and supplement officers’ body cameras. The drones can send a livestream back to the emergency operations center.
“Technology doesn’t call in sick, take vacation or personal days or have bad days,” he told trustees.
Several residents attending the meeting expressed concern that the drones would be used to invade people’s privacy, violating the U.S. Constitution’s Fourth Amendment, which bars unreasonable searches.
Underwood said 55 police agencies across the U.S. are using Flock’s Aerodome drones and, like the 12 license-plate readers installed across Waterford, will only be used to record live events happening in public places.
The 55-pound drone is classified as a small drone, according to the FAA, but has four rotors, live video capabilities with thermal imaging and a 30-minute battery, which recharges in 30 minutes. It can be operated remotely from a desktop computer or cellphone app.
Video footage is retained by police for 30 days, he said, unless it’s needed as evidence of a crime or there are judicial or administrative reasons to retain it, such as substantiating or refuting a claim about police conduct.
Although he referred to the drones as first responders, Underwood said the machines would be used to give officers a bird’s-eye view of situations. One example, he said, is a drone launched to check a report of a suspicious vehicle behind a building. The drone would show officers whether the car was still there.
“If it’s not, the officer can focus on other situations,” Underwood said, adding that Waterford is a safe community and that is a tribute to the officers on duty.
Underwood said any officer or dispatcher interested in drone training, which is included in the contract, will be allowed to take it. FAA certification is required for drone flights 400 feet or higher or operated near airports. Oakland County International Airport is on the township’s west side.
He told The Oakland Press he is working with Flock and the FAA on details, but expects to have three to six people trained and drones ready in the next 30 days.
He said drones will improve officer safety and that the Flock license plate readers, which are mounted on utility poles, helped detectives find the two suspects in a November 2024 fatal shooting in the MJR Theater parking lot.
“We made arrests within 24 hours,” he said.
The drones will be stationed in three parts of the township for quick response, Underwood said. He would not disclose the drones’ base locations for security reasons.
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