The Minneapolis City Council has taken up a proposal that would expand how police can use drones in responding to 911 calls.
It would essentially allow drones to be used as first responders, something MPD Special Operations Commander Thomas Campbell says could help improve efficiency.
"We'd have the ability to clear low level, 911 calls for service so that we wouldn't have to have an actual police response to those calls," says Campbell. "This inevitably will increase our officers' safety, but with that, real-time information coming in and it will overall protect community safety even more."
Campbell says the department's 22 drones and 12 pilots have been nothing but helpful since the department started using them for general police response four years ago.
Campbell also says they can help determine actual emergencies, and have been nothing but helpful since the department started using them for general police response four years ago.
"The total missions from our start date in fall of 2022 to now have been 584 missions, which would include patrol assists and higher search warrants. To date there's been zero, no citizen complaints about MPD drone usage."
Several local police departments in the state use drones regularly, but just a few use them as first responders.
"I personally found myself oscillating between 'wow, this could be extremely useful,' and 'oh my God, this is Big Brother coming to ruin our lives.' But that's not to say that I don't see many, many, many ways in which this would be valuable," explains City Councilmember Soren Stevenson.
The cost of implementing their usage as first responders is not yet known. Minnetonka started a similar program in 2025 that officials say costs roughly $260,000 per year to operate, but they add it will save the city much more than that in the long run.
A public hearing will take place in the coming weeks to get resident input.
