Police drones flew 143 times in their first 8 flying days, and the log doesn't show how often they got there first
What happened: Bellingham's drones logged 81 flights from Oct. 12 through Oct. 15, up from 62 in the program's first four days, for 143 since launch Oct. 6. The log shows no flights on Oct. 10 or 11, and every flight since launch took off between noon and 11 p.m. 141 of the 143 carry a police case number. The most common calls: welfare checks (27), trespass (15), theft (14), suspicious person (13) and collisions (12). The median flight lasted 10 minutes.
Why it matters: Bellingham's public log lists each flight's time, length, call type and case number. Two measures that neighboring programs report aren't in it. Auburn's pilot reported that its drone arrived before officers on 47.1% of calls and gave useful information on 88.2%. Kent's policy deletes footage that isn't evidence within 60 days, and the ACLU of Washington has asked for limits on how long drone data is kept and who it's shared with. The City's program page says incident video goes into the same evidence system as body camera footage but gives no retention period. A $475,417 state grant pays for the drones through 2028; Kent, offered a free trial by the same vendor, plans to ask for permanent money in its next budget.
What's next: we'll recount the log weekly. Kent's Council votes on its 2027-28 budget in November. No Bellingham cost estimate after 2028 is on the record. Our first-week count