Morning Report: A Revolving Door For Cops, Drone Companies

By The Voice of San Diego, the Voice of San Diego

April 5, 2021

Chula Vista’s drone program, in which the devices act as first responders in some instances, has brought the department international attention.

It’s brought city leaders a taste of the attention they have long wanted as they’ve attempted to shed the image of a bedroom community. The city can now point to its smart policing initiative as a technologically advanced way of reaching homeless encampments and responding to emergency calls.

But the explosion of drone-use by law enforcement is also deeply concerning to tech and privacy advocates and some residents.

VOSD’s Sofía Mejías Pascoe took a tour of the program and reports that Chula Vista’s success with police drones is due in large part to the city’s PR prowess. The city has actively tried to get the program on the radar of major news outlets in recent years, and it’s paid off.

Not all the coverage has been flattering, but even the most critical pieces have furthered the city’s reach.

Two of the officers who helped launch the program are now working for companies in the drone industry, leveraging their connections to other law enforcement agencies to ensure more police departments adopt drones and have an easier time getting federal clearance. Their efforts have opened a revolving door between public and private interests.

Politics Roundup

• Candidates for the 79th District Assembly special election have raised a decent amount of money in only a few weeks, and we’ve got a snapshot of the donors in the Sacramento Report. MacKenzie Elmer also writes that SDG&E’s new wildfire mitigation plan puts an emphasis on burying electric lines and hardening the infrastructure above it.
• On the podcast, Scott Lewis, Sara Libby and Andrew Keatts breakdown three stories that have been bugging them. Scooters are back. Remember those? Conservatives are mad that migrant children are getting an in-person education. And San Diego Unified doubled down on its narrative that nothing is wrong with Lincoln High.
• U-T columnist Charles Clark also sounded off about the politicians and pundits who’ve punched down and weaponized the pain parents are feeling over school closures. “Helping immigrant kids and supporting San Diego kids are not mutually exclusive,” he wrote.

In Other News

• The executive director of a nonprofit that funds projects in low-income communities argues that the city should ditch Measure C and instead float a new bond for parks, infrastructure and housing in underserved neighborhoods.
• The Convention Center shelter for migrant girls is closing in on its 1,450-person capacity. (City News Service)
• Gov. Gavin Newsom suggested San Diego is approaching the orange tier of coronavirus restrictions during a visit to a local vaccination site Friday. (City News Service)
• The New York Times did a deep dive into the horrific crash that killed 13 people in one SUV that was smuggling migrants into the country.

The Morning Report was written by Jesse Marx, and edited by Sara Libby.

Voice of San Diego is a nonprofit news organization supported by our members. We reveal why things are the way they are and expose facts that people in power might not want out there and explain complex local public policy issues so you can be engaged and make good decisions. Sign up for our newsletters at voiceofsandiego.org/newsletters/.