"Every major US city has a private foundation supporting police, with more than 250 nationwide. The foundations have been used to pay for surveillance technologies in cities like Baltimore and Los Angeles without being subject to public scrutiny, according to the report."

Did BPD deploy surveillance drones at the 6/20 protest, violating their own policies and scrubbing it from public flight logs?

In 2023, BPD purchased drones from DiCarlo Precision Instruments, Inc. Members of the public at the protest on 6/20 reported to us that the drone they observed surveilling the protest and returning to BPD matched the drones available from DiCarlo. www.dicarlotech.com/products/uav

Drone flight logs are posted on BPD’s “New Technology Initiatives” page. Despite reports by members of the public seeing a drone fly low over the protest, then return to BPD, there is no drone flight on 6/20 in Upton in the logs. www.baltimorepolice.org/resources-an...

BPD using a drone for a reason other than those listed in the previous post is prohibited. www.baltimorepolice.org/transparency...

Per BPD policy, units must go through an approval process to begin using drones. Only two units are currently authorized to use drones - SWAT and the Crime Scene Unit - and only for specific purposes. Protest surveillance isn’t one of them. public.powerdms.com/BALTIMOREMD/...

You can read BPD’s full, final drones policy here. It names 3 allowed uses of drones by BPD in principle: search and rescue missions, high risk situations, or gathering evidence when it can’t be done on foot. www.baltimorepolice.org/transparency...

In July 2023, BPD announced it would start using drones - only to document crime scenes and “for collecting information and apprehending suspects during tactical situations.” www.baltimorepolice.org/news/bpd-req...

On June 20, protesters seeking justice following the BPD killing of Bilal Abdullah reported seeking a drone hovering overhead before it flew back to BPD officers nearby. If BPD used a drone for surveillance of the protest, that was a significant breach of their own policy and promises. 🧵

New story about the police shooting of Bilal Abdullah, his family’s response, and new details that refute Commissioner Worley’s claim that the community kept them from rendering aid. baltimorebeat.com/family-mourn...

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