As debate about law enforcement’s embrace of surveillance technology continues to swirl around the country, Nashville’s Metro Council on Tuesday passed on the second of three readings a bill to restrict the future use of drones by Nashville police. It comes after the Metro Nashville Police Department wrapped up its trial of a Drone as First Responder (DFR) program in Madison earlier this month.
The bill passed on a voice vote with two members voting no. Third and final reading will follow at the Sept. 1 meeting.
MNPD Deputy Chief Chris Gilder told councilmembers during Tuesday’s Public Health and Safety Committee that the department appreciated the changes made in the substitute that advanced. He also said that the department would prefer to be able to use the technology for more uses than those listed in the legislation.
Benjamin Davis, a resident who supports the drone restrictions, said during public comment that “the people of Nashville are sick of being recorded without their consent.”
The proposed ordinance was originally filed last month by southeast Nashville Councilmember Sandra Sepulveda. The substitute version she offered Tuesday would amend the Metro Code to explicitly require that any future DFR program be approved by the council after a public hearing. It would also limit such a program to deploying drones in response to active shooter incidents, hostage situations, active searches for missing persons, and “for a period of up to ten days, a state of emergency declared by the mayor or natural disaster that presents an immediate threat to life or critical infrastructure.”