Fremont City Council Meeting: 02/13/24 07:00 PM
3300 Capitol Avenue Div/Dept: Police Department
Fremont, CA 94538 Category: Agreements and Contracts
SCHEDULED
Sponsors:
COUNCIL STAFF REPORT (ID # 5060) DOC ID: 5060
Updated: 2/9/2024 8:57 AM by Alberto Quintanilla Page 1 MILITARY EQUIPMENT USE POLICY UPDATE - Adopt a Resolution Approving Amendments to the Policy and Request to Purchase Additional Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) for Use in the Field and Drone as First Responder (DFR) Deployments
Contact Persons:
Name: Matthew Snelson Sean Washington
Title: Police Captain Police Chief
Div/Dept: Police Department Police Department
Phone: 510-790-6874 510-790-6969
E-Mail: [email protected] [email protected]
Executive Summary: The Fremont Municipal Code Chapter 8.80 Military Equipment Use requires the Fremont Police Department (FPD) to seek City Council approval prior to funding, acquiring, or using equipment defined by California law as “military equipment.”
This report outlines the recommendation to amend Exhibit 1 of the Military Equipment Use Policy authorizing the use of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) for Drone as First Responder (DFR) deployments. In addition, this report requests approval to purchase four UAS (two DJI Avata and two DJI Mavic 3) and notifies the City Council of the removal of five DJI Mavic 2s and seven DJI phantoms from FPD’s UAS fleet, bringing the total authorized UAS owned by FPD to 12 (currently 20 are authorized).
BACKGROUND: On September 30, 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law AB 481, relating to the use of military equipment by law enforcement agencies, codified in California Government Code sections 7070 through 7075. The law now requires law enforcement agencies to obtain approval of the applicable governing body (City Counc il) for funding, acquiring, or using military equipment by an ordinance adopting a “military equipment” use policy. On May 3, 2022, the Fremont City Council adopted ordinance 04-2022 and established Fremont Municipal Code (FMC) Title 8 Health and Safety, Chapter 8.80 Military Equipment Use. Chapter 8.80 requires the City Council to approve and to make certain findings during a regular meeting held pursuant to open meeting laws for funding, acquisition, or use of military equipment.
FMC Chapter 8.80 and state law authorizes the governing body of a city to approve the funding, acquisition, or use of military equipment within its jurisdiction only if it makes specified determinations. The findings are that (1) the military equipment is necessary because there is no reasonable alternative that can achieve the same objective of officer and civilian safety; (2) the proposed military equipment use policy will safeguard the public’s welfare, safety, civil rights, and civil liberties; and (3) if purchasing the equipm ent, the equipment is reasonably cost-effective compared to available alternatives that can achieve the same objective of officer and civilian safety.
The Public Safety DFR Program utilizes UAS technology deployed from a fixed location , enabling a response to qualifying calls for service soon after a call is received. The DFR Council Staff Report (ID # 5060) Meeting of February 13, 2024 Updated: 2/9/2024 8:57 AM by Alberto Quintanilla Page 2 Program utilizes the same technology and is functionally identical to the use for deployments in the field from emergency vehicles.
Over the past year, the FPD and Fremont Fire Department enhanced focused effort toward public safety and initiated a “proof of concept” pilot program deploying existing UAS technology as DFR. At the conclusion of the DFR pilot program, and after careful assessment of the results of our study, staff discovered that deploying the UAS technology in the DFR program improved situational awareness, assessment of critical information, assisted with faster response times and enhanced emergency responder safety. Improved effectiveness and efficiency of communication supports our public safety objectives.
DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS:
As part of the approval process, and in compliance with Government Code § 7071, the Chief of Police submitted this policy to the City Council and made this policy available on the department website at least 30 days prior to the public meeting. The information was posted on fremontpolice.gov on January 11, 2024 to include a prominent banner on the home page of the site alerting the public to the item being presented to City Council on February 13, 2024.
Purchasing authorization for the addition of four UAS
FPD requests authorization to purchase four UAS to enhance our public safety operations for both field deployment and our joint Public Safety DFR program with the Fremont Fire Department (FFD). UAS are utilized to enhance the Police and FFD’s mission of protecting lives and property when other means and resources are unavailable or are less effective.
UAS are necessary to ensure officer safety and public welfare as they provide visibility to high-risk locations. Without the use of a UAS, police officers and fire fighters would have limited overhead observation of high-risk areas, decreased effectiveness of detecting missing persons, reduced visual assistance during rescue operations, and be unable to assess suspicious/dangerous objects from a safe distance. The UAS system can enter small spaces, such as enclosed structures, and provide overhead observations of high-risk situations within business districts, residential sections, open land/wooded areas, and other crowded spaces. When deploying through DFR, a UAS will usually arrive on-scene before responding public safety personnel. The early arrival of a UAS provides real-time information and situational awareness allowing public safety personnel to make better decisions utilizing real-time information, increasing safety for the public and responding public safety personnel. In addition to crime and rescue operations, UAS equipment is utilized to memorialize and document crime scenes and to conduct natural disaster assessments.
The two new UAS platforms being requested for purchase include the DJI Avata and the DJI Mavic 3. The DJI Avata is a first-person view UAS that enhances FPD’s ability to fly indoors during critical missions. The Avata’s interior flying abilities are unmatched in our current UAS fleet and will be a significant improvement with the department’s ability to safely and effectively fly inside of a structure. FPD takes civil rights and the privacy of all involved seriously and only deploys UAS inside of a structure when it is lawful and necessary to do so in compliance with the Constitution of the United States and all other applicable laws and department policies.
Council Staff Report (ID # 5060) Meeting of February 13, 2024 Updated: 2/9/2024 8:57 AM by Alberto Quintanilla Page 3
The DJI Mavic 3 is the upgrade to the aging DJI Mavic 2s currently in the FPD fleet. The department currently owns five DJI Mavic 2s, which have become obsolete due to being phased out of software updates, replacement parts and batteries. With the approval to purchase DJI Mavic 3s FPD will remove these five Mavic 2s from inventory, selling them to our vendor to receive a credit towards the requested purchase of DJI Mavic 3s and DJI Avatas.
The addition of DJI Mavic 3s to the FPD fleet significantly enhances FPD’s field UAS operations as well as our joint Public Safety DFR program. The DJI Mavic 3 provides the ability to fly low-light and nighttime missions with better visual capabilities, which currently limit UAS use. Without this equipment, safety risks to the public, fire and police personnel would increase in the circumstances described and no other reasonable alternatives have been identified in place of the requested purchases.
One-time expenses for requested purchase:
- Two DJI Avata (Pro-View Combo with RC Motion 2 Controller) – $1,428 each o Six Batteries - $129.00 each; total of $774
o One DJI Avata Battery Charging Hub - $59 each
- Two DJI Mavic 3-(DJI Mavic 3 Cine Premium Combo) – $5,998 each; total of $11,996
o Six Batteries – $209 each; total of $1,254
o One DJI Mavic 3 Battery Hub - $99 each
o Propeller guard- $49
Grand Total for the above-listed UASs and equipment: $18,784
- Anticipated credit for the sale of five DJI Mavic 2s: $5,768
Total one-time cost of purchasing a total of four UAS (two DJI Avata and two Mavic 3s) with credit for the sale of five DJI Mavic 2s: $13,017
On-going and recurring costs with purchase:
o DJI Avata 2-year Care Refresh Protection Plan - $129
o Mavic 3 extended two-year warranty - $599 every two years
Updated use language within Exhibit 1 of the Military Equipment Use policy FPD’s existing policy and guidelines regarding use and privacy require no changes to deploy DFR. However, Fremont PD believes it appropriate to update Exhibit 1 of the Military Equipment policy to clarify the use of UAS for DFR purposes. Therefore, staff is recommending adding language to Exhibit 1 of the Military Equipment Use policy mentioning DFR and describing the program.
Council Staff Report (ID # 5060) Meeting of February 13, 2024 Updated: 2/9/2024 8:57 AM by Alberto Quintanilla Page 4 Over the past year, the Fremont Police and Fire Departments held multiple community engagement sessions informing our community and offering an opportunity for input on the DFR Program. (See attached).
FISCAL IMPACT: If approved, the purchase of the requested UAS to include initial and ongoing expenses will be made utilizing the existing approved FY 2023/24 UAS budget within the adopted FPD General Fund budget.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW: Amendments to the Military Equipment Use Policy is an administrative government activity that is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3) in that the activity is covered by the general rule that CEQA applies only to projects which have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant impact on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA. The Military Equipment Use Policy amendments will clearly not have a significant effect on the environment; thus, CEQA does not apply, and no further environmental review is necessary.
ATTACHMENTS:
• Draft Resolution - Military Equipment Use Policy Amendment • Exhibit 1 for Military Equipment Policy_Council DRAFT 01_16_24 Council Meeting • Summarized Community Outreach Fremont Police Department UAS and DFR • DFR Community Meeting Presentation_Multiple Meetings
• Military_Equipment Policy
RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. Adopt the attached resolution approving the amendments to the Military Equipment Use Policy, purchase of four UAS, and use of the UAS in the DFR Program.