HomeMy WebLinkAbout9/1/2026 Item 6d, Scott and Amoroso - Staff Agenda CorrespondenceCity of San Luis Obispo, Council Memorandum
City of San Luis Obispo
Council Agenda Correspondence
DATE: September 1, 2026
TO: Mayor and Council
FROM: Rick Scott, Chief of Police
Prepared By: Brian Amoroso, Deputy Chief
VIA: Whitney McDonald, City Manager
SUBJECT: ITEM #6d – POLICE DEPARTMENT 2025 ASSEMBLY BILL 481
(MILITARY EQUIPMENT USE) ANNUAL REPORT
Staff received the following questions regarding the purchase of two drones to add to
department inventory. The questions are below with staff’s response shown in italics:
1. One question for you on the military equipment item. The staff report says
you propose buying two more drones as back-ups for models you have
currently. It also says that they are being requested with Ventures and
Contingency funding, “therefore no budgetary approval action is required
from Council.” Can you explain what the Ventures and Contingency funding
is and why it does not require council approval?
With adoption of the budget each year, the City Council approves the allocation of
$200,000 to a "Ventures and Contingencies" (V&C) account which is budgeted in
the overall City’s Non-Departmental budget. The Non-Departmental budget
accounts for indirect Citywide costs not clearly linked to departmental operating
programs or projects and is not "owned" by any department but is managed by the
Finance Department. Upon allocation by the City Council as part of annual budget
adoption, the City Manager has authority to expend Ventures and Contingencies
to address unbudgeted emergent needs throughout the year.
The Police Department previously submitted for V&C funding to purchase the
requested drones, which was approved to keep the current drone program
adequately equipped. The drones purchased are consistent with the Department’s
currently approved drone inventory and were also added to the AB481 report to
Council.
ITEM #6d – POLICE DEPARTMENT 2025 ASSEMBLY BILL 481 (MILITARY EQUIPMENT
USE) ANNUAL REPORT Page 2
2. Also, can you explain why the various other drones we own cannot be used
as suitable back-ups for the DJI Matrice and Avata drones we already have,
necessitating the purchase of two more DJI Matrice and Avata models?
As the Department has continued to refine and expand our drone program with
additional certified pilots and defined use cases, we have become overly reliant on
two single drones for most operations, the Matrice and the Avata. The Matrice is
the largest and highest quality drone in our inventory. It has the longest flight time,
best optics capabilities, and is the only drone that can fly in the rain and elevated
wind conditions. During large scale events and tactical incidents, there may be
multiple drones flying simultaneously to gain an overall operational picture from
multiple angles. Adding a second Matrice to department inventory allows two
drones to fly in inclement weather, such as storms and flooding, as well as fire
support. A second Matrice also provides redundancy in the case of a crash or
some other operational issue preventing use, as well as replacing one Matrice in
the air with the second when batteries are depleted and the drone needs to land
out of service for a battery replacement.
The Police Department uses a specialized interior drone to clear a residence or
building prior to authorized entry to increase the safety of our Officers, bystanders,
and suspects. The Avata is a drone specifically made for flying indoors. It is smaller
than the rest of the drone fleet and has guards on the propellers which can allow
the drone to bump off walls without falling to the ground. When drone pilots fly
indoors, they fly solely by the camera, which is extremely technical and can result
in the drone hitting something and falling to the ground. In addition, it is common
practice for a suspect to actively attempt to disable a drone, but a second Avata
drone would allow for a continued search of the premises, instead of being forced
to send in Officers before it is safe to do so. This second Avata will also provide
needed redundancy in the event of an operational issue with the drone and not
leave the department reliant on a single indoor drone for use.
3. Also, separate from these two questions, on page 110 of the packet, under
Lexipol Policy number 707, it appears there is an extra word “department.”
There was a typo in Lexipol Policy 707, which has been deleted in the
Department’s policy database.
4. Is the City required to use the “military equipment” item descriptions as
printed?
Government Code § 7070(d)(1) explicitly requires agencies to list “product
descriptions from the manufacturer of the military equipment”. The manufacturer
descriptions and source photos contained within are referenced via publicly
accessible website source citations. The website source citations utilized in this
report are for military equipment descriptive purposes only and are not an
ITEM #6d – POLICE DEPARTMENT 2025 ASSEMBLY BILL 481 (MILITARY EQUIPMENT
USE) ANNUAL REPORT Page 3
endorsement by the San Luis Obispo Police Department of a particular product or
vendor, or marketing claims.)