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Police drones are fast becoming a fact of life across the United States, where they’re showing up in podunk towns, sprawling cities, and everywhere in between. So far, media coverage tends to highlight their role in finding lost puppies or catching cat burglars in the act. In Los Angeles, however, drones are increasingly being used to surveil peaceful anti-Trump protestors — an ominous preview, in all likelihood, of things to come nationwide.
According to new reporting by the Intercept, the Los Angeles Police Department launched drones at least 31 separate times during a single “ICE Out” protest on January 31st, which culminated in the arrest of at least 50 demonstrators after the LAPD issued an order to disperse at around 9:30pm.
A few months later at the March 28 “No Kings” demonstration protesting Donald Trump, the LAPD launched 32 surveillance drones. Though police didn’t issue an order to disperse until 5:30pm, flight data viewed by the Intercept shows that drone coverage of the peaceful demonstration began at 2pm and continued on until 9pm that night (the LAPD ultimately arrested 75 people.)
When the publication approached the LAPD for comment on the massive number of surveillance flights, LAPD lieutenant Matthew Jacobs insisted that “we do not document or record unless there is a crime occurring.”
“When it comes to a protest or demonstration, we’re responding [with drones] at the request of the incident commander. We’re looking for specific people, we’re not taping first amendment activity,” Jacobs continued. Paradoxically, he added that sometimes the department launches drones to “see how big a crowd is.”
According to some estimates, there are now more than 1,500 police agencies in the US deploying drones in some way. As these programs grow bolder, mass aerial surveillance threatens to become routine — as privacy protections remain way behind.
More on police surveillance: AI Surveillance Systems Are Causing a Staggering Number of Wrongful Arrests