Brittany Kelley
KYLE — Kyle City Council voted to approve a $285,000 purchase agreement with Flock Safety at its Oct. 21 meeting.
Prior to the vote, Kyle Police Chief Jeff Barnett discussed the Drone As A First Responder (DFR) Program, which is what the money will be put toward.
“The program uses [remote-piloted] unmanned aerial systems to rapidly deploy drones to emergency scenes, often within minutes of an emergency call to a 911 center. It can, then, immediately provide live view, aerial photographs or video,” explained Barnett. “DFR systems use strategically located launch stations around the community to get an aerial view of the incident, which can help improve officer safety. It can guide our ground crews efficiently and potentially resolve some calls without even a ground response.”
The purpose of the program is to improve safety for the community and first responders, he continued, by getting the right personnel and equipment to the scene, with as much information as possible.
For example, in one community, a 911 call was placed that stated there was an armed individual sitting in an open air restaurant and shopping area, he said. Police officers were dispatched, alongside the DFR, with the drone arriving several minutes prior to the officers. The camera watched him, until the individual lifted the gun and lit his cigarette. This information was able to be dispatched and let the officers know the reality of the situation, instead of them arriving in this public place with firearms displayed, causing panic.
He also shared that the drone was used in another case to find a murder weapon, using thermal imaging.
The drone could also be helpful in cases of natural disasters, said the chief.
In response to concerns heard throughout the community, Barnett clarified that the drones will not replace officers on patrol duty. It is instead mission specific and is not used for surveillance.
Additionally, the department will host a transparency page on its website to provide the community with an after action report of each mission, he said. This report will include the purpose of the flight, the general path, times and dates; it will not include video to maintain privacy for the community.
According to Barnett, the agreement council had been asked to approve is for a five-year purchase agreement, totaling $1.45 million to fund two aerodrome DFR M350 aircrafts with docking stations, along with software, hardware and flight radar. The agreement also includes upgrades necessary throughout the five years.
“Half of this ask is funded by a grant that has already been approved by the state that council authorized in 2025, for which we could apply. That grant has been awarded and they will fund approximately 50% of this program we are utilizing. The rest of this ask will come from our police department operating budget and the funds are available,” stated Barnett.
Beginning the discussion was council member Lauralee Harris, who was of the opinion that there needs to be a special meeting related to the cameras and drones that KPD is using, so that more information can be shared with the public.
“I want to give the police department all of the technology that they can possibly use; I also want to make sure that it is secure and that we do protect the rights of our citizens,” said Harris.
“I think tabling public safety over political fears is doing a severe disservice to our residents. We are here to help protect people and chief is giving so many examples of how this will be beneficial to our police force and protecting our community,” stressed council member Marc McKinney. “There is no reason to delay this. Absolutely not. It’s political cowardice.”
In response, Harris said she disagrees, as the reason for delay would be because there are options available and there are policies that aren’t fully developed.
Mayor Travis Mitchell, who was attending virtually, was in agreement with McKinney, stating that there may be other options, but that the technology that Flock Safety is using is “far superior to their competitors.” He explained that this is not the same as automated license plate readers (ALPR), as that is mass surveillance; this is a drone with the same technology as a body camera.
“For reasons I don’t understand, the mayor keeps saying something that's in complete contrast with what the Flock Safety [vice president] of aviation has said just this month: ‘All Flock aerodrones are ALPR cameras that fly. They’ll automatically read the license plate when you zoom in and cross-reference your hotlist to see if it’s going to generate a Flock hit or not,’” said Mayor Pro-tem Bear Heiser. “I think if we’re going to make a decision on what is going to be a likely $1.2 million contract … council should be given every opportunity to look at what the technology is for.”
Council discussed whether another company could be used, such as Axon, which supplies KPD’s body cameras. According to Barnett, the company's drones are not as clear as Flock and do not fly as far or fast.
Mitchell spoke of a 2016 accident in Kyle that claimed the lives of four individuals, including a 16-month old child. He explained that there was a car traveling the wrong direction on IH-35 and that because of the moving cars and the 911 calls, the officers couldn’t tell where the driver actually was. He believes that if DPR technology was available at that time, the outcome could have been different.
Heiser asked if the chief had done any research into the available contracts from Flock, as he found two instances that the company gave a free, one-year trial, with a similar contract. Barnett explained that the deal the city received is better than the others because Flock is willing to give the city the radar system for free, which costs $150,000 per radar for each drone. So, the city would be saving $300,000 a year for a five year term, amounting to $1.5 million.
“The ALPR cameras that are on the road are really something that has been a hot topic lately and I share the same concerns everybody else does in: How invasive are we as a city? But, at the same time, public safety is going to be number one [and] is going to trump everything,” emphasized council member Robert Rizo. “Keeping our officers safe is something that’s top priority to me. Keeping our public safe is important … If we use it for these reasons, it’s a great tool, [but] making sure we don’t use it for anything else is going to be really important. So, my recommendation is that we don’t use this drone until we have policy in place.”
He also agreed with council member Miguel Zuniga, who suggested creating a citizen comment page for community members to give feedback. Furthermore, Zuniga asked whether an open house would be an option, after a policy is created, to which the chief agreed.
Harris motioned to table the item until a special meeting could be called. The item failed 4-3, with council members Michael Tobias, Zuniga, McKinney and Mayor Mitchell dissenting.
Next, Tobias motioned to approve the five-year agreement with Flock Safety for the DFR program. The item was seconded by Mitchell and passed 6-1, with Heiser dissenting.
The chief stated that he will bring forward a proposal at a later date for a policy, as well as wait to utilize the drones, until it is in place.
According to city attorney Aimee Alcorn-Reed, the language included states that the city can terminate the agreement at the end of any fiscal year. So, the amount being approved is $285,000 for this year, but the contract would continue to renew, as long as the money is budgeted, she said.
To listen to the discussion, visit bit.ly/4oxSATc.
