Home
Titles
Buckhead reporter.
December 02, 2021
Image 13
Buckhead reporter., December 02, 2021, Image 13
About Buckhead reporter. (Sandy Springs, GA) 2007-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 2, 2021)
Page
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
of 32
Next
Page
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
of 32
Next
Newspaper Page Text
ACLU questions police drone program
BY SAMMIE PURCELL
The Brookhaven Police Department
has begun a new drone program it says
will increase community safety, but a
national civil liberties organization re
mains skeptical.
The Brookhaven City Council ap
proved the department’s Drone First
Responder program in October of
2020. Police say the program is mod
eled after a similar drone program in
Chula Vista, Calif., which dispatches
drones to possible crime or incident
scenes first so on-the-ground respond
ers can have a better idea of what sort
of situation they are responding to.
During a Nov. 16 demonstration of
the drone technology, Councilmember
Linley Jones said the program “enables
Brookhaven to continue on the path of
being forward thinking when it comes
to community safety.”
Brookhaven Police Chief Gary Yan-
dura and Lt. Abrem Ayana - who over
saw the creation of the drone program
- both said the BPD reached out to the
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
of Georgia and the DeKalb County Dis
trict Attorney’s Office for feedback
and suggestions for the program. A
spokesperson from the ACLU national
organization confirmed that the BPD
did reach out for feedback, but the
ACLU still has questions about the use
of drones by police in communities.
“It’s important that when police
departments introduce new technol
ogies, especially surveillance tech
nologies, that they reach out to the
communities that they serve and make
sure that those communities want
the technologies they’re considering
adopting,” said ACLU Senior Policy An
alyst Jay Stanley. “That said, we are
deeply skeptical of drones as first re
sponder programs.”
Stanley said if a police department
is going to make use of a drone pro
gram, the ACLU would rather a de
partment ensure it happens with pri
vacy protections in place, but the
organization has “a lot of questions
about whether it makes sense to de
ploy this kind of surveillance technol
ogy in communities.”
DeKalb County District Attorney
Sherry Boston also confirmed the BPD
did reach out to her office about the
drone program.
“In Spring 2021, the Brookhaven Po
lice Department and their City Attor
ney met with me and my leadership
team to brief us on this new and in
novative drone program,” Boston said
in an emailed statement. “I believe the
manner in which they plan to use it
will enhance public safety for both of
ficers responding to dangerous situa
tions and for the community at-large.”
During the Nov. 16 demonstra
tion, Ayana said the drones will only
be used to respond to emergency calls
and will not be dispatched for random
surveillance. He said drone videos that
don’t capture criminal activity would
be deleted after 30 days.
“We want people to feel safe and se
cure, and not necessarily feel that the
government is maintaining video files
of their movements,” Ayana said. “Our
drones are only dispatched to known
incidents or 911 calls. They are not
used proactively for patrol.”
Yandura said the BPD hopes that
using drones as first responders will
give officers more time to assess po
tentially dangerous situations. Accord
ing to police documents from the Oc
tober 2020 City Council meeting, the
BPD also hopes the drones will be use
ful in letting officers know when po
lice presence is not required.
“It limits the need for officers to
have contact with citizens who are not
engaged in criminal activity,” Ayana
said.
In other documents from the City
Council meeting, BPD names the CO-
VID-19 pandemic as a major factor in
starting the drone program. Accord
ing to the council presentation, BPD
hoped the drone program would “sig
nificantly reduce officer interaction
with the public while still maintaining
community policing efforts.”
Ayana said the team that operates
the drones is made up of 16 licensed pi
lots. Since the program started, drones
have responded to over 500 calls for
service, according to BPD. Ayana said
the drone response time is under two
minutes on average.
2042 Johnson Ferry Rd NE
(at the corner of Ashford-Dunwoody Rd. in Brookhaven)
Hours: 11am to 10:30pm
E $5 OFF
I Lunch or Dinner
| Minimum $20 purchase
^ Not valid with any other
| offers. Not valid on Fridays,
must present newspaper
ad to redeem.
■ Expires 12/31/21
Atlanta Fine
Homes
Sotheby's
INTERNATIONAL REALTY
Your next move
can be next level.
OUR BUCKHEAD OFFICE
PROUDLY WELCOMES
Brandon Nunley
of the Brandon Nunley Group
Widely recognized as one of the leading
forces in the Atlanta residential real estate
market, Brandon Nunley provides the highest
level of client service no matter the size or
cost of the home. Contact Brandon today for
an exceptional real estate experience.
c. 404.783.3311 o. 404.237.5000
brandonnunley@atlantafinehomes.com
brandonnunley.atlantafinehomes.com
Atlanta Fine Homes, LLC fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and
the Equal Opportunity Act. Each franchise is independently owned and operated.
@reporter_newspapers
BH
DECEMBER 2021| IB
