Who flies surveillance drones in Mono County?
What we do not know
Mammoth Lakes Police
- Was the anticipated 2025 infrared campfire survey conducted, and what do later flight logs show?
- What policy governs flights, warrants, public notice, imagery retention, access, sharing, and deletion?
- How was the aircraft acquired, and what software, sensors, warranties, and maintenance are active?
- How many current pilots are trained, and what do FAA reports, complaints, crashes, and audits show?
Mono County Sheriff
- Was the budgeted capital item purchased, delivered, accepted, transferred, or cancelled?
- What manufacturer and aircraft model did the adopted budget item cover?
- Does the Sheriff currently possess the DJI aircraft listed in the 2022 draft inventory?
- Which adopted policy governs warrants, public notice, flights, imagery, access, sharing, retention, and deletion?
- What do current inventory, flight logs, training records, FAA reports, complaints, and audits show?
What drones are
An unmanned aircraft carrying a camera, flown by a public agency. Where a state classes drones as military equipment, as California does, a public policy and a governing-body vote are required before an agency uses one.
How they work, why agencies buy them, and every county we have documented →
What you can do
Civic action
Show up
This technology is bought and renewed by boards, councils and committees that meet in public. We have not yet confirmed where each of them meets in Mono County.
Go to the Mono County hub →Personal protection
Protect yourself
Practical steps to shrink your personal data trail. Our guides publish at launch; until then, EFF's Surveillance Self-Defense is the best starting point.
Surveillance Self-Defense ↗