{"id":2603,"date":"2026-06-24T21:05:35","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T21:05:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2603"},"modified":"2026-06-24T21:05:35","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T21:05:35","slug":"drones-as-first-responders-coming-to-tucson-and-oro-valley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2603","title":{"rendered":"Drones as first responders coming to Tucson and Oro Valley"},"content":{"rendered":"
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TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – Tucson city leaders approved a new police pilot plan for emergency response drones, while Oro Valley expects to receive a fleet of drones as first responders this summer.<\/p>\n

Read more Man charged with distributing child porn expressed excitement about abusing young boys, investigators say<\/a><\/p>\n

Oro Valley is expected to receive the first of four Flock DFRs, or drones as first responders, in the next few weeks.<\/p>\n

How the drones work<\/h2>\n

Southern Arizona police have used drones for years, but Oro Valley police Lt. Kevin Peterson said the new system is different because officers do not have to drive to a scene to launch the drone.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, our current program, the operators have to drive to the scene and launch from the scene itself. Well, now they can remotely launch,\u201d Peterson said.<\/p>\n

When a call comes in, a person launches the drone from one of two elevated locations. The drones can travel up to 3.5 miles and are faster than human responders nine out of 10 times, according to the script.<\/p>\n

Peterson said the drones can give police early information from a scene, often while officers are also responding, helping the department decide what additional resources to send and assess safety.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo if we can get on scene and get situational awareness, not only does it make our job easier, but it makes the public safer,\u201d Peterson said.<\/p>\n

Privacy and data questions<\/h2>\n

Concerns about drones flying over private property have been raised at Oro Valley council meetings.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrusting the system because you\u2019re innocent is like trusting a shark because you\u2019re not a fish,\u201d resident Sean Glaser said.<\/p>\n

Oro Valley police said the drones will have to follow FAA regulations, similar to private drone operators. Police policy prohibits surveillance and infringing on a person\u2019s reasonable right to privacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe drones aren\u2019t always flying around. They\u2019re launched for specific reasons at specific times when we tell them to launch. They\u2019re not surveilling the public, and they\u2019re not recording until we think that we may have evidence of a crime and we press the record button,\u201d Peterson said.<\/p>\n

Recorded footage is deleted after 30 days unless it is needed for a case.<\/p>\n

During discussion of Tucson\u2019s one-year police pilot program, Ward 6 Council Member Miranda Schubert asked about data sharing involving the Skydio product and Axon\u2019s ongoing contract with the Department of Homeland Security.<\/p>\n

Luis Romero, technology administrator for the Tucson Police Department, said the system is not shared with other agencies.<\/p>\n

Read more Big Tigger, radio personality and former BET host, arrested in Georgia<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is solely for the city of Tucson and specifically for the Tucson Police Department,\u201d Romero said.<\/p>\n

Romero said the footage will be end-to-end encrypted. Tucson police modeling shows the drones could cover more than 65,000 calls a year.<\/p>\n

Funding and oversight<\/h2>\n

In Tucson, the Pima County Regional Transportation Authority is paying for the program, which will be audited with citizen oversight, adhering to the city\u2019s technology policy.<\/p>\n

In Oro Valley, the $146,000 for the drones came from a state grant to fight border crime. Peterson said Oro Valley is impacted by border crimes, but the drones are not to be used in immigration enforcement or for ICE.<\/p>\n

Both Oro Valley mayoral candidates were asked to comment on the use of Flock technology. Vice Mayor Melanie Barrett referred questions back to Oro Valley police.<\/p>\n

Below is the response from former Pima County Sheriff Mark Napier:<\/p>\n

\u201cBased on my experience, I believe FLOCK, license plate readers (LPR), and drones have legitimate and significant public safety value. FLOCK and LPR technology assist law enforcement in tracking vehicles involved in criminal activity, recovering stolen vehicles, and gathering valuable criminal intelligence. These tools can provide critical leads in investigations and help solve crimes more quickly and efficiently.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDrones also offer substantial public safety benefits. They can be used to survey areas for dangerous suspects while reducing the risk of placing officers directly in harm\u2019s way. They also have tremendous value in locating missing children, vulnerable adults, and individuals in crisis, often in difficult terrain or time-sensitive circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPrivacy concerns regarding these technologies are real, and I respect those concerns. However, I have confidence in law enforcement\u2019s ability to use these tools responsibly, safeguard personal information, and operate under clear policies that ensure strict accountability and maintain public trust.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFinally, like the activities of any public body, the use of these technologies creates public records that can be reviewed and scrutinized to ensure transparency, document their use, and provide the public with oversight. When used properly, these tools can improve public safety, community service and officer safety while preserving public trust.\u201c <\/p>\n

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Oro Valley expects its first Flock drones this summer, while Tucson approved a one-year police pilot program<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2602,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2603","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nDrones as first responders coming to Tucson and Oro Valley - Tucson Moving Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2603\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Drones as first responders coming to Tucson and Oro Valley - Tucson Moving Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Oro Valley expects its first Flock drones this summer, while Tucson approved a one-year police pilot program\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2603\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tucson Moving Report\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-24T21:05:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2603#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2603\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/71841c7d449e6ab1ace6bce2f5277255\"},\"headline\":\"Drones as first responders coming to Tucson and Oro Valley\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-24T21:05:35+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2603\"},\"wordCount\":867,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2603#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/e22cd66c932c35344c1ee8c70cf39dbf.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2603#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2603\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/tucsonmovingreport.com\\\/?p=2603\",\"name\":\"Drones as first responders coming to Tucson and Oro Valley - 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