Here come the drones.
The Alameda County Sheriff's Office is the proud new owner of a pair of drones, purchased by Sheriff Greg Ahern after he'd been denied a request for dones last year.
Ahern told the the Bay Area News Group his new robots will be used for emergencies and not "surveillance," but privacy advocates are still furious.
Ahern appears to have circumvented public process, dipping into the sheriff's budget for $97,000 to buy the pair of QuadRotor QR425s after a request to get a federal grant was abandoned in the face of public opposition.
"He's acquired this drone in secret over public opposition," said Linda Lye, a staff attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, in comments to the paper.
Ahern scoffed, saying that the department buys gear in this fashion on a regular basis.
"I made it very clear that I was still going to acquire drones," he told the newspaper.
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The sheriff said he'll use the devices to monitor emergency situations at an altitude of about 400 feet.
The department is ready to launch its new drones as soon as the FAA clears them, according to the sheriff’s office.
