Mono County Sheriff | Drones
Mono County's adopted fiscal year 2023-24 budget included one $33,600 Sheriff capital item for a drone and evidence-locker upgrade. A separate 2022 draft inventory listed one DJI aircraft. The records do not establish purchase, deployment, or a current fleet.
At a glance
How it happened
- Context
Draft equipment inventory lists one DJI aircraft
A draft military-equipment policy and inventory lists one DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual at a $3,500 purchase cost. It describes infrared or optical-zoom camera options and intended public-safety uses. The document is marked draft. [1]
- Decision
Board adopts a budget containing a new drone capital item
The Board unanimously adopts the final fiscal year 2023-24 budget. Its capital schedule includes one new $33,600 Sheriff item described as an Aardvark tactical NDAA interior drone and evidence-locker upgrade for Bridgeport and Crowley. [2]
What the Board funded
On September 12, 2023, the Board of Supervisors unanimously adopted Mono County’s final fiscal year 2023-24 budget. The capital schedule includes one new Sheriff item described as an Aardvark tactical NDAA interior drone and evidence-locker upgrade for Bridgeport and Crowley. The schedule assigns $33,600 to the combined item.[2]
The adopted budget establishes an approved appropriation. It does not establish an executed purchase, aircraft manufacturer or model, delivery, acceptance, operational date, or flight.
What the earlier draft lists
A separate military-equipment policy dated April 14, 2022 lists one DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual with a $3,500 purchase cost. It describes an infrared or optical-zoom camera, pilot licensing and training, and intended uses that include missing-person searches, collision investigation, disaster response, and crime-scene documentation.[1]
That document is marked draft. The reviewed records do not establish that the DJI entry was adopted as a final inventory, that it remains in the Sheriff’s possession, or that it is the same aircraft as the later budget item.[1][2]
The approved status reflects the adopted capital budget without treating either dated record as proof of a current operational drone fleet.
Questions
- Did Mono County approve funding for a Sheriff drone?
- Yes. The Board adopted a final fiscal year 2023-24 budget containing one $33,600 combined drone and evidence-locker upgrade item for the Sheriff's Office. [2]
- Was the budgeted drone purchased or deployed?
- The adopted budget authorizes the capital item but does not establish a purchase, delivery, acceptance, flight, or deployment. This page therefore labels the system approved rather than active. [2]
- Which drone did the Sheriff consider or list?
- The budget describes an Aardvark tactical NDAA interior drone and evidence-locker upgrade. A separate 2022 draft inventory lists one DJI Mavic 2 Enterprise Dual. The records do not establish that these entries describe the same aircraft or a current fleet. [1] [2]
- What rules govern flights and imagery?
- The 2022 document describes intended uses and references Policy 606 and federal aviation rules, but it is marked draft. An adopted current policy and imagery-retention schedule were not established by the records reviewed. [1]
What we do not know
- 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 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. Mono County Sheriff's Office draft Policy 705 and military-equipment inventory · Primary document · · accessed · archived copy
- 2. Mono County Resolution R23-081 and final fiscal year 2023-24 budget · Meeting record · · accessed · archived copy
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