[0:02] We're now doing things by Zoom. Uh, do we need to take RO for our study

[0:06] session? Yes. We should we should get on the record who's here. So, we can have

[0:09] the city clerk take. >> Council member Cow

[0:13] » here. >> Council member Han

[0:16] » Council member Quan.

[0:20] » Mayor Prompu. >> Yes.

[0:22] » Mayor Ch >> here. Right. people are on the zoom and

[0:28] » Karen just joined. >> Okay.

[0:36] So, how many people are on the zoom and would like to speak uh as to the study

[0:39] session I am

[0:43] Michelle? Do you have any public comments on

[0:45] » um not yet? I'm trying to uh it's not allowing me to

[0:53] » Yeah, >> I don't think we have

[0:55] » attendings >> to make her a panelist.

[0:58] » Okay, one second. We need to >> So, while while we're doing this, what

[1:02] I'll do, Michelle, is just for the people who may want to speak. Well, if

[1:06] you raise your hand and then we'll close it. The um this because this is the

[1:11] special meeting. This public comment section will be for the items that are

[1:16] on the special meeting agenda. There will be additional public comment at 7

[1:19] o'clock. This will only be limited to items on our study session or close

[1:23] session. >> I think

[1:27] sir, are you here to speak on the study session item as well or is it just

[1:31] » I don't know. Yeah, I haven't heard what you have to say.

[1:34] » Understood. >> We do take public comments at the

[1:36] beginning. So, that would be the opportunity to speak if you'd like to

[1:40] speak before we get started. Well, I assume this is about the drone.

[1:46] I think I had a couple questions. Okay, let us get this squared away and then

[1:51] we'll we'll take your questions.

[2:09] See if I can hear.

[2:21] » So, um, we're trying to promote council member Fan to a panelist so she can

[2:26] participate. We need to send her the request again. The first one we sent was

[2:30] declined. So,

[2:34] but she is on. Okay, she's on. Correct.

[2:39] Was there someone in the room who wanted to make public comments? Okay. And then

[2:42] we have some fine too. >> We have two.

[2:47] » Let's see.

[2:54] » If there's anybody that wishes to speak on public comment online, please raise

[2:58] your hand.

[3:07] one hand raised. >> Okay, we'll have five minutes for the

[3:11] person online and then five minutes for producer as well.

[3:23] » Devin, please proceed with your public comment.

[3:37] So he accept the request. Deon, if you're speaking, you should

[3:41] unmute yourself.

[3:49] Devin, are you with us? Okay. Technology is amazing. What

[3:55] » we could do is we could have the the speaker in the room if you have five

[3:59] minutes to speak, sir. Okay. Um I understood the very brief summary

[4:07] discussion

[4:11] especially today is about civilian and tactical drone use. Is that correct?

[4:20] No. And are you allowed to answer? >> So we're not really supposed to. So it's

[4:25] not really a conversation but if you but you are correct.

[4:28] » Okay. Okay. Well, that's why I was thinking I would wait until after so I

[4:32] know what my questions were. But, uh, to the extent that you are contemplating

[4:39] tactical drone use, um, what's the genesis of that need? That's one of my

[4:46] questions. Two, are you contemplating that this

[4:50] will be run by a city department such as the police department or by a third

[4:56] outside agency? Three, do you anticipate that this tactical use will be

[5:03] coordinated or correlated with the license plate cameras that are prevalent

[5:10] throughout the session? Or

[5:14] do you anticipate that the cost of this is going to be a normal budget item or

[5:20] it's going to be defraed by some outside entity providing the service and

[5:27] therefore fraing the cost? Those are my initial

[5:31] questions and I will probably have more after I hear you all talk and then I'll

[5:36] come back for the next meeting and ask those questions again.

[5:41] » Yeah. So the four questions I heard uh what was your name sir?

[5:44] » David Bigalow. >> Mr. Bigalow. Um

[5:48] just to clarify it is Genesis of Need run by a city department or an outside

[5:53] agency coordinated or correlated with the license plate reader and the cost of

[6:00] this is it going to be a budget item or or something else?

[6:03] » Oh and there is one more question. Um to the extent that there is civilian use

[6:10] limited or allowed um is there any

[6:17] feasibility that has been considered for the areas of the city that are fairly

[6:26] impacted [clears throat] by the San Gabriel Valley airport. I for example

[6:31] live right under the flight path of the sustenance that routinely do touches at

[6:38] that airport. So I would be impacted if either tactical civilian drone use were

[6:44] allowed over a certain height limit. >> Thank you.

[6:50] » All right. Uh do we have the person online that would like to speak?

[6:57] » Kevin, are you with us? Did you want to make a comment?

[7:04] » Are you talking to me, >> Devin? Oh, that's mayor. Oh, sorry.

[7:09] Council member, >> I'm sorry, Sharon. We were we were uh we

[7:12] were asking for there's a person online with the name of Devon that had said

[7:16] originally they wanted to speak. >> Okay.

[7:21] » Okay, great. Let's have our presentation.

[7:24] So, this is an item before that we get to the the police. So, um this is an

[7:29] item that was actually, I believe, asked for by um council member Cal. We have an

[7:34] item in this year's budget to add drones in the police department.

[7:39] And there was sort of a general question on if we're going to be adding them in

[7:42] the police department, what sort of policies and protocols will there be in

[7:44] the police department? But it also references in the last couple of months

[7:48] we've had increased number of concerns about private drone flights or quazi

[7:55] governmental flights that were happening over um the the wildland areas.

[8:00] Specifically Edison was flying checking their power lines with drones and kind

[8:05] of was the general question of what are the rules? Should there be different

[8:09] rules? What are other cities doing about drones and those types of things? So

[8:14] since it was in the budget, it was a good time to kind of collectively talk

[8:16] about all that. I think that kind of characterizes what we understand the

[8:19] question was. >> Yes sir, city manager. That does

[8:22] characterize what uh what our points are.

[8:24] » Okay. So we have a presentation if it going to be led by our acting chief

[8:27] here. Um but uh it also goes it goes into private and public sector and what

[8:33] the FCC says about all these things. And I think the presentation automatically

[8:38] includes most of the questions that uh Mr. Mr. Bigalow had, but we'll make sure

[8:42] to answer all those questions as well. >> Yes. So, thank you all for allowing us

[8:45] to be here, mayor, council, everyone else. Um, forgive me while I fumble

[8:49] through this as my first one, but uh if I mess anything up, please stop me and

[8:53] get me back in line. Um, I have Lieutenant Ryan Mohal here. He is our

[8:56] subject matter expert for all things drones. Um, normally when I do these

[9:01] kind of presentations, I don't like to just talk because I figure I'm talking

[9:05] and I'm not answering your guys' questions. We'll go through the slides.

[9:08] If there's things that you guys have questions for, please just interrupt me

[9:11] and we'll address them as it goes on. So again, um, Lieutenant Mohal put this

[9:15] together with the help of Justine. I think it's very comprehensive in terms

[9:18] of what it covers. So, um, if it's something that, uh, you guys want to

[9:22] expand on, we're happy to answer any questions that you may have.

[9:27] So again, some of the stuff that we'll talk about tonight, um just an overview

[9:30] of what the federal regulations look like, what are our restrictions both

[9:34] locally, um what does the FAA have to say in terms of drone usage, um what can

[9:40] we expect to uh adhere to in terms of local rules and regulations, and what

[9:45] should we have our our citizens be familiar with? Um, I think a lot of this

[9:50] pertains to an educational campaign for our civilians. I'm sorry, for our

[9:55] citizens. Um, so that's kind of going to be what our uh foundation is here.

[10:04] So, what that says, I know there up there, but it it's rules for every drone

[10:09] operator. So, um, what is it that a drone operator needs to understand when

[10:17] they go out and fly a drone? Um, essentially, when I first understood

[10:22] drones, I thought that the FAA had a strict set of rules that you came in and

[10:27] I had to abide by those, and if I didn't abide by those, I was fined. I was put

[10:31] in jail. And there were things that happened. Come to find out through the

[10:34] research and through the assistance of Lieutenant Mohal, it's not as clear-cut.

[10:39] » [clears throat] >> Um there are different categories in

[10:41] terms of drone operators. Um both a hobbyist and then a professional use.

[10:46] Those are both uh subject to different restrictions. So in essence um if I'm a

[10:53] 16-year-old kid in my backyard flying a drone, I can fly it. I don't have to

[10:58] clear it with the FAA. I don't have to have uh specific rules and regulations.

[11:02] I'm considered a hobbyist. So, I can go out and I can let that drone fly up and

[11:07] as long as I don't violate state laws that are in place which pertain to

[11:13] peeping, things like that kind of prowling. And I think that's where some

[11:16] of the concerns with uh Council Member Cow came in. As long as we're not

[11:20] violating those specific laws, he's free to fly. Now, there are certain FAA

[11:27] regulations that come into uh play in terms of how high that drone can go, but

[11:32] in terms of local enforcement of that, we as a police department are handcuffed

[11:38] into what we can actually enforce. Since we can't enforce federal laws, what we

[11:42] do is we would report back to the FAA the best that we can and then hope that

[11:48] at some point in the FAA's uh time they get back to following up on our case.

[11:54] So, um it is the federal government and it does take a while, but that is the

[11:59] hope that we have is that they come back and and address the issue that we've

[12:02] brought to them. >> Any questions with any of that so far?

[12:10] So again, the federal framework, we talked about it a little bit. Um the

[12:15] non-recreational, the small drone operators, and then there's the

[12:19] recreational use. So um if you're a non-recreational, so you're a let's call

[12:24] it a real estate agent who's out there for a purpose, right? Looking to um use

[12:29] the drone for some type of monetary gain, um you are subject to different

[12:33] regulations. Um, so something like that, you would have to apply for a what they

[12:38] call a part 107 license. So that is basically a uh course in FA rules and

[12:46] regulations, how to fly. It talks about um ceiling heights, things like that.

[12:52] Um, and then you have to take a test at the end of that course and you then

[12:56] become part 107 certified. So that allows you as a person who's essentially

[13:01] looking to monetarily gain from the use of your drone to uh operate it. Um

[13:07] again, as we talked about the hobbyists, they don't have to uh go and do that

[13:12] part 107 licensing. They're allowed to go up uh fly. Typically, it's up to a

[13:17] 400 ft level. However, as you'll see in in uh a future slide, those height

[13:23] restrictions do change based on the location to our airport to the south of

[13:27] us in Almani. So, the closer you are to the airport, the lower that ceiling

[13:33] becomes to the point where in some areas it does reach a 0 foot ceiling. So,

[13:38] essentially, you're not allowed to fly in that area.

[13:43] And I think another key point on the recreational versus the business use is

[13:48] recreational people who don't need licenses and all that. They have to fly

[13:51] the drone with be able to see the drone at all times. It has to be line of

[13:55] sight. The people with licenses sometimes can fly them where they can't

[13:58] see them. >> Yeah, you can get a waiver for that. And

[14:00] and Brian, what is it? >> Yeah. On visual line of sight, BBO loss.

[14:04] » And that's something you apply for, correct?

[14:06] » Yes. >> So that's something you apply for. Um,

[14:08] and essentially like what the city manager and Lieutenant Warl are saying,

[14:12] it allows you to operate it where you're not visually uh looking at your drone.

[14:17] Now, does that mean that people file this and and and get this beyond line of

[14:21] sight uh exemption? No. But again, what can we enforce and what can we do in

[14:27] terms of locally? Very little.

[14:32] » Uh California drone laws. So, we touched upon it uh a little bit initially. Um,

[14:39] essentially in in California and then as it relates more closely to our

[14:44] community, we don't have control over the airspace. So, the airspace is what

[14:50] you would know it to be. It's everything above us that would uh facilitate the

[14:55] the flight of drones. Um, that goes to the FAA. um we have no legal ground to

[15:02] put any rules, ordinances, laws in place that would restrict a individual's

[15:08] ability to use that airspace. That's all regulated by the FAA. Um so the some of

[15:15] the things that we can regulate are um where people can fly them from, city

[15:22] grounds, um where they can take off from. We can regulate some of those

[15:27] things. We can put some exemptions in to uh flights over city sponsored events.

[15:34] Um you know the patriotic festival for example, we could write in an ordinance

[15:38] or an exemption where people would not be allowed to fly drones over that um

[15:43] city sponsored event. So those are kind of the limitations that we have in terms

[15:48] of some of the uh enforcement actions. >> Anything to add on? Well, kind of key to

[15:55] that, it's implied and he sort of touched on it, but it's an important

[15:58] point, which means from my backyard, I can throw up a drone and fly that over

[16:04] my neighbor's house. There's nothing we can do to stop that. But if I fly that

[16:08] drone over my neighbor's house with the intent on peeping on my neighbor,

[16:11] looking at my neighbor by their swimming pool, doing the kind of things you can't

[16:15] do from the ground, meaning check them out kind of in a creepy way, I can be

[16:19] enforced for doing that kind of thing. It's not a drone violation. It's a

[16:24] peeping tom type of violation. >> Yeah. In essence, it would be no

[16:28] different than if you had a person physically in your backyard looking

[16:32] through your window. It's essentially the same criminal uh statute, sir. So,

[16:38] is there a distinction between our ability to register or track the

[16:41] ownership of these things limits as opposed to saying you can't fly it?

[16:47] Does. So if the FAA has occupied the field regarding anything above your

[16:53] rooftop and we can't do that, but do we have other avenues of regulation? Not

[16:59] that I think we necessarily want to do that, but do we have the ability to say

[17:03] if you're going to fly it in the city then you need to register it with us? Do

[17:07] do we have the ability to do that or >> Yeah, it'll So, we'll touch on that a

[17:13] little bit um as we move forward and then again, if I don't address it, then

[17:16] we'll come back to it. But yes, we >> short answer is yes.

[17:18] » Yes, >> you can tell them they can't do it, but

[17:20] you can say everybody who flies needs to be registered with the city.

[17:23] » By the way, every time I don't want to answer a question, I say to the person,

[17:27] I'm gonna get to that in a minute. And then they always forget. So, I'll give

[17:32] you that that tip, right?

[17:37] So this is what we were talking about the uh airspace kind of the ceiling map.

[17:41] So you'll see this is a condensed version but there is a larger version

[17:44] that can be provided um if necessary but you'll kind of see uh I'll stand up here

[17:51] the northern end of the city you see we get to 400t limits. So essentially you

[17:56] can fly up 400 ft without any rules or restrictions. the further south we get

[18:00] uh north Omani, hence the Omani airport, we get into a zero foot cap. So

[18:06] essentially, it's a it's a no-fly zone. So if you're in the north end of town,

[18:10] you've got um a much higher ceiling and for obvious reasons, the closer you get

[18:14] to an airport, they want to uh avoid any type of conflict. So you can't fly.

[18:22] So here we talk about some of the options for the local regulations. And

[18:26] this may be kind of some of the stuff where we get into um the questions about

[18:31] that you had uh council member. So how do we regulate locally if that's what

[18:39] we're looking to do? Um some of the things that we can do is like we talked

[18:44] about we regulate how a drone is used not where it may fly. So, in how it's

[18:50] used, it's takeoff and landing locations, um, distances from specific

[18:55] locations. So, you know, in essence, we could say that you're not allowed to

[19:00] take off a drone within I'm just throwing numbers out, 50 ft of a

[19:06] specific location within the city. So, it thereby affords us a little bit of a

[19:11] buffer in terms of areas that we want to dissuade any type of drone activity.

[19:18] Um, we've talked about the privacy and kind of the harassment and the

[19:22] trespassing, uh, state laws that apply. Um, and those are things that that's an

[19:28] intent crime. So, we would have to prove that that intent exists with the drone

[19:33] operator. Um, so there are steps that we would have to do. Obviously, identifying

[19:37] where the drone is being flown from, identifying who's flying it, and then

[19:41] talking to that person and seeing what their intent was behind the use of their

[19:44] drone. So again, like any criminal investigation, there are steps that we

[19:48] would have to follow um to try to ensure a successful prosecution for something

[19:53] like that. Um obviously, anything that involves an emergency response,

[19:59] wildfires, um there was in the Eaton fire, I'm sure we all saw the news where

[20:04] they had to cease uh uh water drops because of uh drone activity. So,

[20:11] anything like that, those are automatic no- gossos and those are violations that

[20:17] that are enforceable that we can look at. Um, again, since we have the Sanita

[20:22] Racetrack in town, there are uh rules and regulations and laws that apply to

[20:27] interfering with the sporting event. So any private drone use that interferes

[20:31] with a brace uh or any sporting event that's being held there at the track

[20:37] would again qualify for a uh uh state statute violation.

[20:44] Is there any questions on that? Does that kind of address [clears throat]

[20:46] what you were looking for? >> Um

[20:49] but it would be state law that we're looking at there, not local law to

[20:53] enforce regarding let's say a recreational area like Santaita.

[20:56] » State Yeah, state law already is in existence. Um, I don't know the actual

[21:00] penal code off the top of my head, but there is a specific statute that um,

[21:04] applies to interference with a sporting event. Um, [clears throat] and that

[21:07] would fall under that. >> But you do have the ability to add a

[21:13] recreational registration could be required.

[21:17] » And all the drones, well, there's a thing we're going to get to. It's called

[21:21] Real ID, and it's basically, think of it like a license plate drone. So you can

[21:25] identify the operator and maybe origin. And that would be one of the options for

[21:29] you all to consider if you want to talk about one of the ways we'd like to

[21:34] monitor this would be having some type of registration or permit. And so um

[21:38] real ID um or it requires um sensors for detection and stuff. And so there's

[21:45] progressive ways to choose what option would work best for us. We're interested

[21:49] in that. And so, um, they could talk about that more, but that's one of the

[21:52] ways that you would do kind of enforcement and help identify if you

[21:55] have a drone that's going rogue or, you know, violating local laws or state

[22:01] laws. And that that would be the way that you would try to identify the

[22:03] operator and the perpetrator in that instance.

[22:06] » And I think Brian, correct me if I'm wrong, but that requires equipment that

[22:09] we would have to purchase. So, it's it's not like a public database that that we

[22:14] would have free access for. It would be equipment that the city would have to

[22:17] purchase that would allow us to uh be able to identify that drone. And

[22:22] » it's like everything from like a handheld radar gun kind of looking thing

[22:26] to something that's on all of our vehicles that automatically is searching

[22:30] the skies and looking for it. Depends on the level of commitment to

[22:33] [clears throat] that issue. emergency.

[22:38] » So, these are some of the other cities just locally that um we looked at in

[22:43] terms of some of the uh ordinances are already in place. I think if you look at

[22:47] the cities, the albeit a a bigger city, but the most comparable to us given the

[22:51] fact that it has a a sporting venue is Pasadena. Um and they've kind of taken a

[22:56] a broader approach to things. Um and so far from the people that that I've

[23:00] spoken to and that Ryan has spoken to in Pasadena, it's worked for them given the

[23:04] venues that they have. um their ordinance obviously it addresses the

[23:10] flight takeoff and landing um like we've talked about um and then there's other

[23:15] instances where they can get um approvals [clears throat] for special

[23:19] events, filming things like that. So there are ways to go around but it's

[23:23] going to take a process and a special exemption for it. Um again as you look

[23:28] at the the kind of the common theme for the other cities is the majority of it

[23:33] pertains to takeoff and landing. Where can you fly these things from? Um, you

[23:39] know, some of it, um, I think again pertaining to us, we can look at the

[23:45] distance from a specific venue, but the vast majority of ordinances that are

[23:50] adopted by surrounding cities pertain strictly to taking off and landing and

[23:54] and us dictating where that happens. And it seems like no one attempts to try to

[23:59] register ownership that that we've seen in our surrounding neighbors, right,

[24:04] » Ryan? Nothing. They're required by law, excuse me, if the drone is manufactured

[24:09] after a certain year, they're required by law to register that drone with the

[24:14] FAA using remote ID. Remote ID is what everybody's referring to. That would be

[24:18] able to track the location of where the drone took off, which is where the

[24:22] remote control should be, which is where the pilot should also be standing. So,

[24:28] it it is required in in new drones. >> What year is that?

[24:32] » I believe it was 2024. But we wouldn't have the ability to

[24:37] monitor it monitor it ourselves unless we purchase the monitoring equipment.

[24:41] And then would we have the right to do that or do we have to seek FAA approval

[24:44] for that too? >> No, you'd be looking at uh installing

[24:47] radar equipment pick up on radio frequencies and uh infrared from the

[24:52] actual drone flight itself and you'd be able to track it with the radar.

[24:57] » Is that equipment possibly utilized for any other purpose?

[25:02] Anything anybody's going to complain about that we bought this stuff or

[25:07] » complaints? I don't know. Uh would it be useful for a city, especially on the the

[25:13] 28 coming up? I I do believe there would be some use to it.

[25:16] » No, he's saying is there anything else you can use that for other than tracking

[25:19] a drone? >> I'm sorry. Uh I I've only looked at at

[25:22] drones using it for drones, although I have heard of other cities using it for

[25:27] different reasons, but I don't recall what those reasons were.

[25:32] I mean, I'm sure given today's day and age with the tech savvy of these kids,

[25:36] there's ways that they can be used. >> You're telling me some 15-year-old is

[25:40] going to find a clever way to uh [laughter] You sure my 12-year-old son

[25:43] will figure out some way to get that thing, you know, to track down a pirated

[25:47] movie or something? But >> what will be the cost?

[25:50] » Sorry, >> what would be the cost?

[25:51] » I I don't have any estimated costs right now.

[25:53] » And I think it depends too on how extensive we utilize this. If we have a

[25:58] few handheld devices, it's going to be active. we actually equip every cruiser,

[26:02] it's going to be why, right? So, and these are all things that that if the

[26:07] council elects to to investigate further, we can go out and get dollar

[26:12] amounts that that can be presented back to you guys. So, um but yes, you're

[26:16] right. It will range from small to >> not so small

[26:22] to expensive. >> And one of the things that you're

[26:25] looking at, there's a lot of location based things on that list. Uh the other

[26:28] thing that pops up in several cities is the idea of weaponry. And that doesn't

[26:32] necessarily mean like no no uh you know uh

[26:39] » ammunitions on the drone does mean that. But it also means things that look like

[26:43] weapons. So you couldn't have a drone that kind of scared people kind of

[26:46] looked like a fake gun and freaked people out. You could just say those are

[26:50] whether or not it was a gun. It if it looks like a gun, that's an illegal

[26:53] operation of a drone because it has a potential for inciting riots or what.

[27:03] So, what could some of our uh municipal code sections look like? Um, again, as

[27:09] we've talked about frequently, the restriction of landing and takeoffs. Um,

[27:14] would have the ability to restrict landing and takeoff from any city-owned

[27:17] property. um except in designated areas or with city authorization. Um again

[27:23] like we talked about specified distance from city permitted special events. Um

[27:29] obviously active law enforcement, fire, any emergency response incidents. Um and

[27:33] then private property. So um public safety and critical facilities, the

[27:39] infrastructure, um restrict your own use, PD, fire, um you know, water

[27:45] resources, things like that. You know, these are all things that we would have

[27:49] to roundt as a city with department heads looking at what those critical

[27:54] infrastructures would be within our city and then um go back and and write these

[27:59] ordinances so that it would uh entail and encompass everything. So, it's it

[28:04] would not be a let's decide this on a Friday and enact it on a Monday type

[28:07] thing. It would take some some planning and some some thinking to get it done.

[28:12] Um and then obviously al like the uh city manager talked about any type of

[28:16] reckless activity. Um whether it be the appearance of a drone um you know using

[28:21] it for property damage, things like that. Those things are obviously uh

[28:24] things that we would uh enact a municipal code section to avoid.

[28:28] » Are we able to limit the ability for these things to carry any kind of like a

[28:32] payload something?

[28:36] No.

[28:39] » Yeah. And I think that's one of those things. I mean, it's implied in your

[28:42] question, but the Amazons and the FedEx's and all of that in the next

[28:45] couple years are going to be delivering food and packages and all of that stuff

[28:49] and all of that will be controlled by the FAA and not us.

[28:52] » I'm not as worried about them, [laughter]

[28:55] but no, I'm just thinking about things like our water supply and stuff like

[28:58] that. And you >> um it's a matter of concern

[29:02] » and I think it it becomes increasingly a matter of concern as these become more

[29:07] prevalent. We already see a lot of them, but you know, you can equate it back to

[29:12] the legal purchase of a firearm. You know, I know we're getting at extremes,

[29:16] but if it's legally purchased, then it's legally purchased. And the same thing

[29:19] with a drone. You know, you can legally purchase a drone. It's just the intent

[29:22] of the person who purchases it. So, um, so some of the Q&A, um, you know, I

[29:31] don't need to read that verbatim for for all of you. Um, I think the one of the

[29:37] biggest things to take away from here, um, is yes, there are already state laws

[29:44] that are in place that allow enforcement of some of these violations committed by

[29:49] drone operators. Again, it relates to the the prowling, the trespassing, some

[29:54] of the things that um exist with human beings going into backyards can also be

[29:58] done by drones. Those things are already in place. Um, can the police department

[30:04] take down or jam a drone? No. Um, you know, it's not like the movies where we

[30:09] can go out and, you know, point our little gun at it and it falls out of the

[30:13] sky and and the world's a happy place. We have to be realistic about what our

[30:18] capabilities are when it comes to drones, the usage of it. Um, and I think

[30:23] again, like we said, it would take kind of a robust education campaign for the

[30:28] public to understand what the intentions of us as an enforcement arm is and also

[30:34] what the responsibilities of a community member is using a drone.

[30:42] » Uh, to touch on the police drone program. So,

[30:46] this is something that uh Lieutenant Mohal and a couple of our officers uh

[30:50] have delved into um after the approval of funding for this fiscal year. Um so

[30:57] there is uh $105,500

[31:03] time and then a budgeted $92,600 annually. So, our initial uh short-term

[31:11] objectives is to purchase uh three drones. Um one, you know, the the I

[31:19] don't like to word use the word tactical because then it it conjures up all these

[31:23] images of, you know, armies and things like that. Um when we say, you know, a

[31:28] tactical drone in this thing, it's basically it's utilized for interior

[31:33] spaces. Um, so an interior drone provides an exceptional level of safety

[31:40] for officers. It allows us to obviously, like it says, clear the inside of a

[31:44] location before ever having to send an officer inside there. Um, and then we'd

[31:48] also like to purchase two outdoor drones. So the outdoor ones um would

[31:55] work handinhand with our uh contract with our helicopter. So it would give us

[32:00] a lower view while also maintaining the ability for the helicopter to provide a

[32:06] much higher uh wider perspective. So these things work complimentary towards

[32:12] each other um and don't take away from um the ability and the feasibility of

[32:18] these things to work. Um so with the uh purchase of the drones, we obviously

[32:23] need people to fly them. um we are not exempt from the part 107 licensing. So

[32:30] our people will have to go through the course and be certified as part 107

[32:35] flight um drone operators. So those are courses that um [clears throat] are

[32:40] difficult. They are not an easy course to do. Um so it's going to take us

[32:44] finding the right people who are uh interested in this kind of work and then

[32:49] putting them through the courses and getting them certified. So, um those are

[32:54] the short-term goals. We're currently actively researching uh the kind of

[32:59] drones to purchase so that um we get the most out of the money that you guys have

[33:04] allotted for us. Sir, >> when you talk about the indoor tactical

[33:06] drone, you're referring to a flying uh drone or actually like a robotic kind of

[33:12] » No, it's it is a flying drone. It is essentially any drone that you see

[33:16] outside. There are some modifications that are made to an interior drone so

[33:20] that um you know it doesn't get the blades caught in a curtain or something

[33:24] like that. It makes it they're smaller typically to obviously get into smaller

[33:29] spaces. Um so it on face value is there a huge difference? No. Um but it is

[33:35] still an uh an unmanned aerial um >> but as far as building searches on the

[33:42] ground we already have a robot that we can send in.

[33:45] » We do. Yes, we do have a robot. Um, again, there are limitations to

[33:49] everything, right? So, these drones in terms of a police setting would just

[33:53] enhance our capabilities and provide an extra layer of safety for our officers,

[33:58] but yes, we do already have a a robot that we use and that is available uh to

[34:03] our people every day. Um, long-term goals, again, you know, I'm speaking as

[34:09] as the interim sitting here for the next, you know, 3 weeks and then we're

[34:13] getting somebody else coming in. But, you know, it's been the um long-term

[34:16] goals of our police department to have a drone as a first responder program. That

[34:20] takes again a lot of thought and a lot of uh leg work to get that program up

[34:25] and running. Um so, we've decided to make that a long-term goal with the

[34:32] hopes of achieving that, but taking the incremental steps of getting the smaller

[34:37] drone program up and running. Um, so I fully am in with, you know, Lieutenant

[34:42] Mohal's uh expertise on this and then the work that our officers are doing. I

[34:47] absolutely 100% believe that within this fiscal year, we will have the uh smaller

[34:52] drone program up and running. Um, and then obviously all of this goes into a

[34:59] long-term goal of a real-time crime center where all of these things can can

[35:03] come back and help combat the overall uh mission of reducing crime in our city.

[35:08] And what you mean by a drone as first responder is rather than being mounted

[35:12] in a car or or deployed from a handheld throwing it up in the air, it's mounted

[35:16] on a central location and then you put in that we have a crime at 123 Main

[35:21] Street and it immediately deploys to 123 Main Street while our officers are in

[35:26] route and then it can get eyes and ears on what's going on before we even get

[35:29] there in some occasions. >> Yeah, I apologize. I take for granted

[35:32] that, you know, we sit here and talk about these things. I figure everybody

[35:35] else knows about them too, right? No, the city manager is absolutely right. It

[35:39] is um it's a huge tool and you'll see it as a force multiplier that's used

[35:43] through um I don't want to say a lot of agencies in our area, but there are

[35:48] several that have adopted it. Um and you do see that it provides an added layer

[35:54] of safety again for the officers. Um real-time intelligence that you can't

[35:59] get while you're in route to some of these calls. um within a very brief

[36:04] amount of time, you get a live view over a problem and the person watching that

[36:10] can then relay that information to officers that are responding. So, it's a

[36:14] very valuable program. Um again, it's something that we hope to achieve within

[36:20] a reasonable period of time, but again, like everything, it takes time, effort,

[36:24] and takes money. So, not going to lie and say that it's cheap. It's not. Um,

[36:29] but it's things for us to look at as we move forward in in [clears throat] our

[36:32] drone endeavor. >> And Colin, I don't think we put it on

[36:36] the next slide, so stop me if I if I cut you off, but we had talked about um

[36:42] policies and protocols and how we'd make sure, you know, what our

[36:46] » PB requirements would be for operating the drones and all that. You want to

[36:52] » uh I'm sorry in [clears throat] one more time, sir. I'm

[36:55] » our policies and protocols for operating the drones for our employees.

[37:00] » Okay. Um so yeah, as we talked about um and if I missed some of the specifics

[37:07] you're talking about, interrupt, but some of the things that we talked about

[37:10] for our employees is the certification. Um they obviously have to be certified

[37:14] in terms of their licensing in order to to fly it. Um the you know, we have to

[37:21] abide by FAA rules and regulations also. Um, so we would have to submit uh plans

[37:28] to the FAA because all of our flying I said the the majority of our flying

[37:33] would be um beyond line of visual sight. So we we are not uh exempt from these

[37:40] things. The FAA shows no uh care that we're a government agency and a police

[37:45] department. we are still mandated to adhere to the same things that a um in

[37:51] this case a professional drone user or somebody like that would have to adhere

[37:54] to. So we would have to um submit those flight plans, submit all the necessary

[37:59] paperwork, get approval from the FAA. Um and it's not guaranteed. You know, we

[38:05] our proximity to the uh uh St. Gabriel Valley Airport does pose a little bit of

[38:10] a a hiccup in the road because, you know, there are flying there are planes

[38:16] that that we see every day that come over our city. So, we have to navigate

[38:19] that and and we have to comply with the rules and regulations that the FAA would

[38:22] set forth. >> I was talking about we have a vetted

[38:26] policy manual that we use for pretty much everything.

[38:28] » Yes, I'm sorry. >> Yes. So yeah, Lexiple um Lexiple is our

[38:32] our department policy that covers everything from drone usage to you name

[38:39] it, you know, time off requests and things like that. So there are uh

[38:43] policies that are put forth by Lexiple that um our department would enact and

[38:49] uh be held to answer to just like our uh people flying them. um the operators,

[38:54] the observers, they would be held to the lexical policy that would be adopted by

[38:58] um our uh department and then obviously reviewed by the city attorney um you

[39:04] know how it pertains to our city. >> Did that answer your question, Dominic?

[39:09] I'm sorry. >> Sure. Um first of all, Colin, I want to

[39:13] say thank you for an incredible presentation. Thank you so much,

[39:16] Lieutenant, for also uh being our subject matter expert. I mean this is a

[39:21] topic that is not easy. Uh it uh it it involves both uh civil and military

[39:28] uses. Um and so you know I actually have a plethora of questions uh and with

[39:35] exclamation point triple underline. But I don't think that this is the right

[39:39] setting for me to ask a plethora of questions because I think that I think

[39:43] that the scope of this work is actually a lot because it's going to have to

[39:48] involve civilian and and uh law enforcement use as well. At the same

[39:53] time, we have to be respectful of our constitutional rights as well too. So

[39:59] what I like to do is I like to propose a motion. Uh the motion is to create a

[40:04] subcommittee to be able to uh discuss this uh help vet this out, work with the

[40:11] police department so that we can really get a um a really

[40:18] encompassing program that respects what our uses are from a civilian standpoint

[40:25] to what we need to do as a m force multiplier, from a law enforcement

[40:31] standpoint as well. and also dealing, frankly speaking, I've dealt with the

[40:34] FAA and uh getting a 107 certification I don't think is going to be an easy task.

[40:40] Uh whether it's for uh realators or whether it's for law enforcement, too.

[40:44] So I like to create a subcommittee and I like to make a motion that I like to

[40:49] appoint mayor prom David Fu and then council member John Han to be on that

[40:54] subcommittee so that this way I can ask my plethora of questions for David and

[40:58] John because they have nothing else to do in their life. And then this way I

[41:02] won't be bugging I won't be bugging you guys with my plethora of questions. And

[41:06] then and then this way uh our mayor prompu and council member John Han can

[41:11] field the questions from all of us and then be able to work with you to be able

[41:15] to kind of move this ball slowly in an effective manner. Um I'd like to see if

[41:21] I can get a second for that motion. >> Before you second the motion, just I

[41:24] need to understand the motion. So you're not suggesting that you would be on the

[41:28] committee. The committee would still be a committee of two. Yes, that's right.

[41:31] And just any council member that had questions could get them to the staff

[41:34] and the could investigate that. >> Yes. So this way it's it's more

[41:39] efficient. >> Okay.

[41:40] » It's more efficient for every [clears throat] keep in mind that we

[41:45] have whenever we have an ad hoc committee there's serial potential

[41:48] serial meeting issue where they've got to address the issue. And so, you know,

[41:53] you guys can certainly pose questions to staff, but ultimately we're going to

[41:57] have to come back in a setting like this with what they're reporting back. And

[42:01] more information we can get in a setting like this, the better that works.

[42:05] » 100% agreement. So, just to clarify, my motion is that questions from council

[42:11] members will go to the city staff and then the subcommittee will work on this

[42:16] and then report back to us. So, we as a entire body can make a collective

[42:21] decision. Is is is that your point city attorney? Okay, great.

[42:26] » Great. I'll second. >> We have a first and a second. Let's take

[42:29] a vote. Roll call. >> Council member Cow,

[42:32] » yes. >> Council member Han,

[42:33] » yes. >> Council member Quan,

[42:36] » yes. >> Mayor Promfu,

[42:39] » yes. >> Mayor Cheng,

[42:40] » yes. Okay. Well, we're done. Thank you so

[42:44] much. Thank you, Chief. Thank you. And uh we're going to be close now. We are

[42:51] but starting our council meeting.

City Council Special Meeting 9-1-2026

Transcript