OCEANSIDE — A new police drone pilot program is taking flight to cover downtown.
The City Council unanimously approved the pilot program for the Oceanside Police Department during its April 23 meeting. The 13-month program incorporates a Drone as First Responder (DFR) and a Real-Time Crime Center (RTCC) with a sole-source contract with Flying Lion, Inc., to staff a visual observer, according to Lt. Michael Province.
The observer will be paired with a sworn OPD officer, who is also a certified Federal Aviation Administration pilot to operate the drone, he said. The drone will be house atop City Hall and will respond to calls for service from Oceanside Harbor to South Oceanside west of Interstate 5 in the programs initial stages, although the range of the drone could operate as far east as Capistrano and Canyon drives and Fire Mountain, OPD Police Chief Taurino Valdovinos told the council.
OPD was awarded a $264,816 grant through the state’s Enhancing Law Enforcement Activities Subaccount, while the council approved a one-time police General Fund budget increase of $406,247 to cover overtime costs for one officer and two Community Services Officers working four days per week in 10-hour shifts, per the staff report.
