Hamden Council Approves Drone Purchase

The Hamden Police Department added to its arsenal of Covid-19 related resources with authorization to spend grant money on PPE, cleaning supplies, a storage shed, utility bins, personnel scheduling software … and a drone.

The Hamden Legislative Council voted this past week to accept an $82,363 coronavirus-related grant from the U.S. Department of Justice. The Bureau of Justice Assistance FY 20 Coronavirus Emergency Supplemental Funding Program is supposed to help state and local law enforcement agencies with the costs of Covid-19.

The department will use some of the grant to pay for supplies. It will spend nearly $18,000 of it on personal protective equipment (PPE). It will spend about $2,000 on disinfectant sprays and bottles. $1,700 will pay for utility carts and storage bins, and $1,300 will pay for a storage shed.

The department will also use $26,000 to upgrade the program it uses for scheduling personnel.

The most expensive and most controversial item, though, is not as directly related to the virus as others. About $33,500 of the grant will pay for a drone, with camera attachments, other accessories, warranties, and training. While drones are not typical tools in a government’s arsenal for fighting coronavirus, it is still eligible for purchase with the grant.

Police Chief John Sullivan, and former Chief John Cappiello, said the drone will be used mostly for search and rescue operations. Hikers frequently get lost on Sleeping Giant, for example, and the drone would help the police and fire departments locate them. They said it is a piece of equipment the department might want in the future, and the grant was an opportunity to get it without having to pay out of pocket.

The main component of the drone and its accessories — a DJI Matrice 300 RTK — are a wide-angle camera with a strong zoom feature and a thermal camera, Sullivan told the council Monday. It could have been helpful during the tornado that tore across the northern end of town in 2018, he said. The department could also use it to document and map crime scenes, or to analyze traffic flow, or even to make announcements by mounting a PA system on it.

Departments across the state have started using drones in recent years. In 2017, Stamford, for example, established a drone unit, according to the Stamford Advocate. In New Haven, people floated the idea of using drones to monitor dirk bike riders last year. That idea was ultimately shot down. 

Some Hamden council members, though, were wary of the advanced features the drone has to offer. Some, including Justin Farmer and Brad Macdowall, said they opposed the purchase because of the drone’s potential for surveillance use.

In 2018, a councilwoman in Hartford raised similar concerns after the city bought a drone with a grant.

The grant, and the drone purchase, originally came before the council in June. The council voted to take the drone out of the grant, and then tabled the full grant acceptance.

On Monday night, the administration came back to the council with the drone still in the grant. This time, the grant passed 7 to 6 with the drone in it.

Many of the details of the drone’s use are still unclear, since the department has not yet created a policy for its use. Once it does, the council will not have any official oversight. By approving the grant, the council voted oversight of the drone off its desk.

Instead, it is now up to the police department to draft a policy. The police commission will then consider it. 

Commission Chair Michael Iezzi said he would take the opinions of members of the public, and council members, into account. ​“Of course I have consideration for the council as members of the town on what their concerns are,” he said. ​“But it’s overall what’s in the best interest of the town” that will influence how the commission votes.