Seattle PD Captain: Drone Program "Depends On Elections..."

According to new records obtained by HardPressed, the Seattle Police Department (SPD) was aiming to "get the green light" from former mayor Bruce Harrell's office for a drone surveillance program at the end of his term in 2025.

"We have contracted with Skydio to do our FAA compliance work and I
hope to get the green light from the Mayor's office later this year," Britt wrote to another SPD officer in a June 2025 email. "A lot depends on elections..."

Katie Wilson ended up beating Harrell for the mayor's office in November 2025, and it's now unclear what the status of SPD's drone program is.

Update 6/12/26, SPD wrote to HardPressed that the "drone programs were brought up with the current MO [mayor's office] as a coordinated request from City public safety agencies. SFD [Seattle Fire Department] is moving forward with the SIR [surveillance impact report] process for drones. SPD is not moving forward at this time."

SPD, Mayor Wilson's office, and former Mayor Harrell did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Despite the status of SPD's drone program, Britt planned to attend a demonstration of Skydio's X10 drone in late January of this year, a few weeks after Wilson was sworn in as mayor. SPD Assistant Chief Tyrone Davis asked to attend the demo as well at the King County Sheriff's Office Maple Valley facility.

HardPressed has previously revealed SPD's drone compliance contract, details of SPD's planned "drone as first responder" program, and the department's first steps at reigniting a new drone program in 2024.