Mammoth Lakes Police | Drone
Mammoth Lakes Police lists one DJI Matrice 30T. Its 2025 annual report says the aircraft was not deployed during the reporting year because of staffing shortages.
How it happened
What the department lists
MLPD’s 2025 military-equipment inventory lists one existing DJI Matrice 30T. It describes a yearly cost of $2,780, a two-to-five-year expected life, FAA requirements, pilot training, and team-supervisor oversight.[1]
Policy 706 provides the department’s general AB 481 framework for governing-body authorization, annual reporting, public availability, and community engagement.[3]
What the annual report says about use
The annual report says the camera-equipped aircraft was not deployed from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025 because of staffing shortages. It says MLPD intended to use new infrared software to survey for illegal campfires in 2025.[2]
The reviewed records do not show whether that later survey occurred. They also do not state the aircraft’s acquisition record, current pilot count, flight-policy details, imagery retention, sharing configuration, or post-June 2025 deployment history.
Questions
- Does Mammoth Lakes Police have a drone?
- The 2025 inventory lists one existing DJI Matrice 30T. [1]
- How often was it used in the 2025 report?
- MLPD reported no deployments from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025 because of staffing shortages. [2]
- How much does it cost?
- The inventory states a yearly cost of $2,780 and does not state the initial cost. [1]
What we do not know
- 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?
What you can do
Show up
Systems like this one are approved by boards, councils and committees that meet in public. We have not yet confirmed where each of them meets in Mono County.
What we have documented in Mono County →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 →Sources
- 1. Mammoth Lakes Police AB 481 military-equipment inventory, 2025 · Primary document · · accessed · archived copy
- 2. Mammoth Lakes Police annual report of military-equipment use, 2025 · Primary document · · accessed · archived copy
- 3. Mammoth Lakes Police Policy 706, Military Equipment · Primary document · · accessed · archived copy
Get the digest
A regular digest of what changed in the world of surveillance: the counties we published, the devices that appeared on the map, and the public meetings where these decisions get made. We send it when there is enough to report.
One click to unsubscribe. What we do with your address is on the newsletter page.