In a unanimous vote, the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners Tuesday approved a $2.1 million donation to purchase drones and docking stations for a program to send technological response ahead of officers in certain emergencies.
The five-member commission, which oversees the Los Angeles Police Department, approved the donation from the Los Angeles Police Foundation, which would allow the department to purchase drones and docking stations and cover installation costs at police stations.
The Los Angeles City Council will consider approving the donation in a future meeting before the funding can be accepted.
In a report, Assistant Chief Director Emada Tingirides of the LAPD Office of Operations noted that the department would use the $2.1 million donation and a $1.8 million retail theft grant to cover a three-year contract with Skydio Inc. for equipment, warranty coverage and service.
The Office of Operations would use the funding to purchase two stand-alone drones and add new docking stations across several LAPD divisions.
The office has piloted the Drone as First Responder program since June 2025 — evaluating its feasibility while testing multiple vendors, equipment platforms, personnel and deployment sites.
LAPD officials say the pilot program has been highly successful. The Office of Operations identified Skydio as the optimal vendor, and chose locations for drone docks. These stations would enable coverage across “as much of the current airspace as restrictions will allow within the LAPD’s 21 geographic areas,” according to Tingirides’ report.
The department has proposed installing 17 drone docking stations. The Northeast, Hollywood, Olympic, Wilshire, West Los Angeles, Topanga and Devonshire divisions would each receive two docks. Another division would receive three docks.
The LAPD has proposed installing one dock at the Palisades Village, and two docks each at The Grove, Vineyards Porter Ranch and Avenue of the Stars.
The dockings stations will serve to recharge and deploy the drones.
The Drone as First Responder program uses drones with high-definition and thermal imagining to reach emergency scenes before LAPD officers on the ground. Live video gives officers real-time awareness to assess threats, locate suspects, identify potential hazards and can resolve calls for emergency without direct contact, according to Tingirides.
Officials say the program can improve response times and provide better situational awareness for officers, and can also make it safer for officers to respond to calls and support de-escalation efforts.
Critics of the drone program say it expands the LAPD’s surveillance of regular citizens, and that it should not be supported.