The Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners unanimously approved a $2.1 million donation to expand the Los Angeles Police Department's "Drone as First Responder" pilot program.
The donation, which was from the LA Police Foundation, and a $1.8 million retail theft grant will cover a three-year contract with Skydio Inc. for equipment, warranty coverage and service, according to [Assistant Chief Emada Tingirides](https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/video/how-deputy-chief-emada-tingirides-made-lapd-history/). She added that the funding would be used to purchase two more drones and to install docking stations throughout the city.
In total, the department proposed installing 23 drone docking stations at eight divisions, the Palisades Village, the Grove, Vineyards, Porter Ranch and Avenue of the Stars.
Tingirides leads the Office of Operations, which oversees the drone initiative. Her team launched the program in June 2025, which uses drones to scout locations as officers respond to the scene. The department said it provides real-time information to assess the situation and the surrounding area before they arrive.
Critics have called the program an expansion of the LAPD's surveillance of regular people and urged against its implementation.
LAPD has created a [website that logs every time a drone](https://cloud.skydio.com/dashboard/LAPD) is used for the program and provides its flight path.
The LA City Council will need to approve the donation before the department formally accepts it.
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