Police Commission Advances SFPD Drone Rules 5-1 Despite Calls for Delay

San Francisco's Police Commission on Oct. 14, 2026, moved the department's first written drone directive closer to reality. It voted 5-1 to send Department General Order 10.12 to labor review after rejecting two amendments meant to tighten it. Hours of public comment ran heavily against the policy, led by the Public Defender's office, the Bar Association, the League of Women Voters and immigrant-rights groups, who wanted a community working group first.

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• DGO 10.12 drone policy advances 5-1 to meet and confer; Commissioner Kevin Benedicto casts lone no
• Two Benedicto amendments fail: incident-based deployment ties 3-3; First Amendment cross-reference loses 2-4
• Legal, civic and immigrant groups demand a working group; crime-prevention and business groups back the order
• Drone data security and vendor access deferred to a future data governance order
• Chief reports Part 1 crime down 18% and discloses Oct. 12 death during an arrest

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Drone Order Clears First Hurdle

The basics: A Department General Order, or DGO, is the San Francisco Police Department's binding rulebook for officers. Drones currently operate under a Board of Supervisors-approved use policy adopted under state law AB 481 and voter-approved Prop E (2024). The department has no written directive of its own. "Meet and confer" is the legally required review with police bargaining units.

Where things stand: Aja Steeves, Director of SFPD's Policy Development Division, outlined the process. It included community meetings, a 30-business-day posting and a Sept. 2 commission hearing with 23 speakers. Extended written comment produced 63 coded comments plus later emails, about 140 in support and 56 against.

Changes since September include voter-approved language on captain-rank access and a ban on recording areas where people have a reasonable expectation of privacy. Staff also clarified the authorized-use section and added text on retaining public footage. Steeves said the order bans harassment, monitoring of protected classes, general surveillance, First Amendment monitoring and warrantless use. Those limits go beyond the Board policy.

Steeves said the order otherwise does not widen drone use. "The one expansion that we are asking for is as it relates to community outreach," said Steeves, referring to standalone outreach flights.

The data question: Benedicto asked whether SFPD had found a vulnerability like the one in a Wired report on exposed drone footage. The Chief of Police said no. Steeves said a separate data governance DGO covering vendors and all tools is coming, along with a multi-page unit order on audits.

Commissioner Lowe raised audit requirements under Government Code 7072. Steeves pointed to DGO 301, which makes compliance procedures a department responsibility, and to AB 481's requirement to report audit results. Lowe said his worry went beyond officers' access: "it's really the third-party access that I'm concerned with," said Lowe, who asked that it be audited.

Decisions and stakeholder impacts: The motion passed. For: 5 (President C. Don Clay, Vice President Pratibha Tekkey, Commissioners Mattie Scott, W.S. Wilson Leung and Lowe). Against: 1 (Benedicto, who answered "Strongly no"). Absent: 1 (Commissioner Cindy Elias).

Officers would gain one uniform written directive. Residents would gain new written prohibitions, but only if those survive labor review and Board approval. Privacy advocates' core concerns about vendors and footage now depend on documents not yet before the commission.

What's next: The order goes to meet and confer, returns to the commission and then needs Board of Supervisors approval.

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Benedicto's Bid to Tighten Limits Falls Short

Why it matters: The votes show a commission majority favoring clarity for officers and Board-approved language over the stricter limits that advocates and Benedicto sought.

Where things stand: Benedicto said Prop E had already settled whether SFPD can fly drones. "That is not the question before this commission," said Benedicto. He praised the revisions but argued for more time and a community working group. "It's more important to get this policy right than to pass it right now," he said.

Drawing on San Diego and NYPD policies, he offered five amendments:

1. Narrow the definition of "general surveillance."
2. Add privacy language.
3. Tie "public safety response" to a specific incident.
4. Change "solely" to "primarily" in the First Amendment ban and cite DGO 8.10, the department's order on First Amendment activities.
5. Bar drone use for routine foot patrol.

Under questioning, Benedicto accepted rewording on general surveillance and dropped traffic-enforcement language. He withdrew the foot-patrol amendment entirely. Only two amendments drew seconds, both from Lowe.

Benedicto said the incident amendment "grounds the deployment in incidents as opposed to allowing for general deployment." Steeves countered that the change adds nothing. "So as evidenced by our flight logs, everything has an incident," said Steeves. She also argued that "shall when feasible" reads as a "should" and questioned the phrase "valid purpose."

The other side: Commissioner Leung called the DGO a disciplinary document. "I think clarity is probably one of the most important virtues of the DGO," said Leung, who called "primarily" and "every effort" subjective. Benedicto replied that SFPD's own policies are full of discretionary standards.

Steeves defended the existing First Amendment wording. "Solely is clearer in that it gives us indication that we are absolutely not watching this First Amendment activity for First Amendment activity," she said.

Decisions and stakeholder impacts: At Benedicto's request, the amendments were voted separately under Robert's Rules.

The incident-based amendment failed. For: 3 (Benedicto, Lowe, Scott). Against: 3 (Clay, Tekkey, Leung).

The DGO 8.10 cross-reference also failed. For: 2 (Benedicto, Lowe). Against: 4 (Clay, Tekkey, Leung, Scott).

The tie shows how close incident-based limits came to adoption. Jesus Gabriel Yanez, a recently retired police commissioner, had urged that same change during public comment.

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Working Group Demand Dominates Public Comment

Why it matters: The opposition included legal and civic institutions that have worked with the commission on past policies. They raised vendor, immigration and oversight concerns the order does not directly address.

Where things stand: Process drew the most fire. Julie Tran of the Bar Association said she was surprised no working group was convened, noting that past working groups produced strong DGOs. Jennifer J. Deb Wagner of the League of Women Voters of San Francisco said the League was disappointed and warned about lost public trust. She cited the share of flights labeled miscellaneous, suspicious vehicle and suspicious person. Brian Cox, Deputy Public Defender, said the vote seemed predetermined. Aster Dyer of the California Nurses Association asked the commission to adopt the Public Defender's recommendations.

Immigrant advocates focused on data. Sarah Lee, an organizer with Free SF Coalition and the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, linked drone use to ICE surveillance. A California Immigrant Policy Center representative cited 30-day retention of unrelated footage and broad deployment rules.

Others targeted vendors and technology. Manny of Deflock SF demanded canceling contracts with Axon, Skydio, Flock, BriefCam and Peregrine. Camera engineer Oliver said targeted surveillance is incompatible with current drone cameras. Juan Albanel of the Tech Wars Coalition said the technology has advanced beyond Prop E. Harold Eber Kellogg warned about autonomous drones.

Jennifer Key Davidson said the commission's summary of her letter was distorted and asked staff to compare it with her original.

The other side: Don Thomas, a volunteer committee chair with the Union Square Alliance, said drones helped catch theft and assault suspects within hours. Frank Noto of Stop Crime Action cited falling homicides, robberies and car break-ins, arguing the perfect should not be the enemy of the good. Anna Carney, President of Stop Crime SF, said safety and privacy are not competing interests. Griffin Lee of Connected SF said more than 100 members backed the order, citing Prop E and officer staffing shortages. Alex Bastian, CEO of the Hotel Council of San Francisco, praised the balance of privacy and safety.

Decisions and stakeholder impacts: The commission followed the supporters' timeline. Downtown business and crime-prevention groups got their policy moving. Immigrant-rights, legal and civil liberties groups did not get the working group they requested.

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Chief Touts Crime Drop, Discloses Death During Arrest

Where things stand: "Part 1 crime is down 18%, violent crime is down 10%, and property crime is down 19%," said the Chief of Police. Homicides stand at 21 year to date, compared with 22 in 2025, and total gun violence is down 27%.

The Chief also disclosed that a person was apprehended on a warrant at 8th and Mission on Oct. 12. "During the apprehension of that person, it did result in that person's death," he said. The District Attorney's independent investigation unit has taken over the case.

The Chief addressed the Public Defender's release of video from an August 2025 incident, citing a DA letter that found the use of force lawful. He also updated planning with the Office of Transgender Initiatives for a Trans March community meeting.

Why it matters: Public commenters later cited the Oct. 12 death in arguing against expanding police technology.

The Chief opened with a moment of silence for retired Deputy Chief Ann Mannix and announced a noon remembrance at headquarters. He said about 70,000 people attended Fleet Week.

What's next: The mother of a homicide victim asked about ghost guns. "I'll get you that count at the next meeting," the Chief said.

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Minor Items

• Language access: The commission received and filed SFPD's Language Access Annual Report 2025-26 on a 6-0 vote, with Elias absent.
• Police accountability staffing: The Mayor's Office authorized the Department of Police Accountability to hire two more investigators. The agency is working to keep its charter ratio of one investigator per 150 officers.
• DPA caseload: The agency opened 11 cases and closed 40 for the week; unnecessary or excessive force was the top allegation. A redesigned weekly report, translatable into 15 languages, is set to launch later this month.
• Fatal crash case: Marta Alvarez said her 80-year-old father, Roberto, was killed by a driver on Dec. 17, 2025. She said her requests to meet in person with the traffic investigations unit have gone unanswered.
• Unsolved homicide: A mother whose son, Aubrey Abakasa, was killed in 2006 showed photos of unsolved cases. She urged new ways to encourage tipsters to come forward.

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Looking Ahead

Revisions to DGO 5.14, "Interagency Operations," and DGO 8.11, on officer-involved shooting investigations, were pulled from this agenda and will return at a future meeting. DGO 10.12 will come back to the commission after meet and confer, and a separate data governance DGO is in development.