Gresham PD Buys Eyes in the Sky

I want everyone to know I did my best to be professional and resist the urge to open this article with the absolute softball about police and flying. I’ll leave that to your imagination. Because I’m a professional.

What I’m referring to is the Gresham Police department’s recent launch of their “drones as first responders” program. Modeled after the Chula Vista police departments drone program that opened in 2018, robot cops have been proliferating across the country, and now right into your backyard, and your neighbor’s, and anyone’s that happens to be in the vicinity when the drone flies by. Gresham is now the nations 16th such program.

According to Gresham PD the drones only record if the authorities deem it necessary for their investigation. I don’t mean to be naïve. Everyone can get on board with faster response times for folks in crisis. Allegedly it improves response times by three minutes. According to Robocop anyway.
Underneath all the airborne protecting and serving lurks an ongoing legal battle. After a public records request was submitted, the Chula Vista PD refused to turn over the footage. Cue lawsuit.

It’s easy to sit behind a computer screen and type alarmist opinions. I still don’t think I’m far off base with this one. Many Portlanders were around for the riots in 2020, and granted, it was the feds that time around, but drones were common as dirt that whole time. Given greater Portland’s notoriety for being an activist hotspot, and the constant yearning in the ‘burbs for a security state to keep the perceived riff-raff out, (Don’t pretend ya’ll don’t know what I’m talking about, I know your uncle is on Facebook.), I mean, gee-willickers, boy howdy, I just cannot picture a way this could spiral like any sci-fi movie ever.

This isn’t the first instance of safety vs privacy, and better minds than me have weighed in on that so I’ll keep my two cents, which you could probably guess anyway. What I will leave you with is the thought process from Gresham PD. The boys in blue didn’t get the big bucks at the ballot box they wanted in 2023. According to Gresham Police Chief Travis Gullberg, “Without the additional staffing the Gresham Safety Levy would have provided our department, we are having to find innovative ways to be more efficient while keeping our community safe.”

This was their solution to do less with more. At the time it seemed pretty evident the constituents of Gresham had opted for less police. Maybe ya’ll should have stuck with that, huh fellas? Thing is though, the “more with less” rationale isn’t even applicable any more, since a bond passed in May 2024. Here’s a PR tip: next time you need a new toy, try an RC car. Way less creepy.

Adam Elwell