San Jose

Drones to Only be Used in Emergency Situations: San Jose Police

San Jose police held a community meeting Saturday morning to explain how they planned to use a drone given to the department.

In the proposed program, the drone would be used only to evaluate and monitor emergency situations, like an active shooter or hostage situation.

Officials also addressed privacy concerns.

"We are proposing some policies that are very limited in scope that would not have us doing any surveillance other than for these two situations, wherein there might be explosive devices or there might be some sort of a tactical incident where lives are in danger," San Jose Deputy Police Chief Dave Hober said.

The one-year test program is grounded until approved by the city council and FAA. The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office is also waiting for the okay from the FAA to launch its two drones.

Those will be used for major crime scenes and search-and-rescue missions.

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