10-19-2017, 05:47 PM
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department began using a drone in January. At the time, Sheriff Jim McDonnell said the $10,000 aircraft would be used only in limited circumstances to assist deputies with rescues, bomb scares, arson investigations and tactical situations.
Officials say it has been used only a handful of times.
In July, the Sheriff's Department's Civilian Oversight Commission voted 5-4 to ask McDonnell to ground the drone but he refused, calling it an important public safety tool. He previously had promised the aircraft wouldn't be used to spy on the public.
The LAPD had two drones that it acquired in 2014 but hadn't deployed in the face of vocal opposition by civilians citing privacy concerns and "mission creep" -- the old "slippery slope" objection.