Seattle PD Planning Drone As First Responder Operations
According to a Concept of Operations (CONOPS) document, the Seattle Police Department (SPD) is planning to implement a drone as first responder (DFR) surveillance system in Seattle.
The CONOPS document was drafted by drone company Skydio and is intended to support a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) waiver request which would allow SPD to operate Skydio's proprietary X10 drones remotely, beyond line of visual sight, anywhere within the United States.
"Acquiring drones will make Seattle less safe by siphoning even more public money from youth programs, food access, and other community investments that decrease violence to harmful surveillance technologies," the grassroots organization Stop Surveillance City wrote to HardPressed.
In response to numerous questions about the CONOPS and SPD's relationship with Skydio, SPD wrote to HardPressed that "SPD is not planning on having a drone program for 2026."
"As far as the CONOPS is concerned," SPD wrote to HardPressed, "we did not prepare that, and you would need to reach out to the authors for more information on it."
While SPD didn't draft the CONOPS, the department paid Axon to work with Skydio to develop it. Skydio did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
Axon is a direct investor in Skydio, in addition to the Central Intelligence Agency's In-Q-Tel investment fund, among others. Skydio's drones are used by the Israel Defense Forces, U.S. military and other police departments across the country.
According to WIRED, the Skydio X10 also includes four payload bays. SPD's CONOPS document indicates that the Skydio Ground Control System includes "payload controls" as well. SPD did not answer if it is planning to deploy weapons or munitions from drones.
The department is planning for the use of "dock based" drone launching, which would allow drones to be positioned on the top of buildings throughout the city and remotely launched and controlled by an SPD employee from a remote command center. The planning documents also indicate the use of drones on patrol, either launched and controlled by an officer in the field or by an SPD employee from a remote command center.
HardPressed previously revealed SPD's initial plans to implement a DFR program in November 2024. All of the department's planning since has been done outside of any public Surveillance Impact Report process as required by the city's Surveillance Ordinance.
"Fourteen years ago, SPD made headlines when it was discovered that they secretly acquired drones. Public backlash against led to SPD returning the drones and passage of the Surveillance Ordinance," Stop Surveillance City wrote to HardPressed.
While SPD's drone program is not yet operational, Stop Surveillance City wrote that "The people of Seattle are already subject to invasive drone surveillance via the King County Sheriff’s Office’s drone program... Many of these deployments were at the request of SPD which is a clear violation of Seattle’s Surveillance Ordinance. The Surveillance Ordinance includes both technology a city department acquires and technologies it directs a non-city entity to operate."
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