City Solicitor Michael Traynor said that the city council has discussed the police department obtaining a drone at various meetings in “a public vetting of the proposal to acquire surveillance technology,” but “there’s no formal approval or veto power by the City Council in this process.”
In an order in Tuesday night’s agenda, At-large Councilor Thu Nguyen calls on the city manager not to approve the proposal for the drone and to prohibit use of the technology, “until a comprehensive and civil liberties focused policy regulating the use of it is submitted to the City Manager, City Council and the general public.”
The Worcester City Council has also requested a report from the city solicitor concerning state and federal policies concerning drone surveillance.
Worcester Police Chief Steven Sargent proposed using $25,000, from $100,000 in funding the department received through a line item from Senator Michael Moore, to purchase a drone.
The proposal has raised discussions around what the policy for the drone would look like.
Deputy Police Chief Paul Saucier said since the department does not have the aircraft yet, “it’s difficult to create a particular policy because a lot of the policy has to do with the manufacturer.”
He did say once the drone is purchased, the policy would mirror the International Chiefs of Police model policy.
Some attendees at a hearing on April 20 discussing the drone were frustrated that policy could not be made before the drone was purchased.
“I think the fact that discussion about policy is locked behind buying the drone is obviously absurd,” Worcester resident Nick Wertz said.
Sargent said the drone could be used in search and rescue missions, motor vehicle crash investigations/crime scene mapping and as a de-escalation tool in hostage negotiations, in a letter to Augustus.
Residents and city councilors were especially concerned that Sargent told Augustus the drone would assist the city’s Quality of Life Team when searching for homeless encampments.
District 5 Councilor Etel Haxihiaj said that making recommendations for a community without properly vetting it through the people that work with that community sets a precedent that she would not want to set.
“My strong suggestion would be to strike any connection, any request for this drone to be used in any way shape or form in relation to the unhoused community,” Haxihiaj said at the public hearing held by the public safety committee April 20.
Eric Tars, director of the National Homelessness Law Center, said he was afraid the use of a drone will lead to sweeping encampments without adequate time to build relationships or provision adequate alternative housing and services.
Concerns were also raised that the homeless would end up facing criminal charges as a result of drone surveillance.
In response to the concerns, Saucier said the department has a unit that specializes in mental health and locating the homeless and works with the community to get them assistance.
“At no point did anyone ever say anything about criminalizing the homeless population,” Saucier said, “We offered this as an outreach to help you identify those locations where you do not know where they are, and we have people trying to locate them to save their lives.”
Other attendees at the public safety committee meeting raised concerns that facial recognition technology could be added to the drone.
Saucier responded by saying an executive order in the city clearly states that facial recognition technology cannot be used in the city of Worcester.
“We do not use it,” Saucier said. “We do not have software for facial recognition.”
Saucier also addressed other rumors he’s heard in the community about the drone.
The drone will not be used to pursue motor vehicles, will not carry weapons and will not be deployed on routine patrol to surveil people, he said.
Moore referenced situations in which the drone could be used, specifically highlighting active shooter situations like Columbine and Sandy Hook and terrorist situations where infrastructure and bodies of water are targeted.
The drone could also be used by the city’s fire department to locate fires in the woods or hard-to-reach places, Moore said.
Moore also pointed out that other communities in his district have purchased drones.
“My office has not received any complaints from the other communities that have utilized the funding to purchase drones,” he said.
Drones are becoming a popular tool in Massachusetts law enforcement, according to data obtained by ACLU Massachusetts.
As of May 2021, the Massachusetts State Police had 81 drones, the Boston Police Department Crime Scene Response Unit had 18, the Northampton Police Department had 16, the Tewksbury Police Department had 10, and the Waltham Police Department had 10.
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