Pittsfield Council Rejects Federal Police Drone Grant
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The City Council on Tuesday rejected a $31,000 police drone grant after a larger conversation about surveillance and responsible data storage.
On the agenda was $31,167 from the Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance, for the Edward J. Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program. For about two hours, councilors dug into the U.S. Department of Justice contract, found grammatical errors, and what they described as abnormally worded conditions and red flags.
"It's not even like one red flag. It's like a whole field of red flags," Ward 7 Councilor Kathy Moody said.
They voted 9-2 to reject the grant, with only Ward 1 Councilor Kenneth Warren and Ward 3 Councilor Matthew Wrinn in favor.
"We should not approve a grant where the contract goes against our own policies, whether it be state or local policies, or whether the requirements in that contract go against our community's values," Councilor at Large Alisa Costa said.
"And what I heard from residents before this meeting, and what was a concern that I flagged when I first read this, is that it does go against my values and the values of our neighbors and us wanting to protect people."
Open microphone speakers said provisions in the contract violate the Massachusetts PROTECT Act, which Gov. Maura Healey signed last month to establish statewide limits on state and local cooperation with federal civil immigration enforcement.
"I'm particularly concerned about Condition 53, that would essentially require police officers to report to [the Department of Homeland Security] anyone who is being released from custody from a correctional facility, which would include local jails," resident Kamaar Taliaferro said.
"Condition 54. This condition is in direct violation of the PROTECT Act."
This condition's language states there can be "no use of funds to interfere with statutory law enforcement access to correctional facilities," and "certain federal officers and employees 'have power without warrant ... to interrogate any alien or person believed to be an alien as to his right to be or to remain' in the United States."
Both community members and councilors had concerns about the proposals' accompanying LiveView software, and police could not pinpoint where data goes after it is collected through the service.
The council had five days to accept or reject the reimbursement grant and its 62 conditions. It was issued on July 31, and Pittsfield had 45 days to accept.
One of the grant's conditions was that the city use an American-made drone, which police said delayed its presentation to the council.
Warren argued that they could accept the grant without following through to get more information. Councilors wondered if a different software could be used, or if this item could be sent to the Public Health and Safety subcommittee first.
They were told that this grant needed to be voted on that night.
Ward 2 Councilor Cameron Cunningham initially favored accepting the grant, feeling that the city code is a protection against drone use without approval. Towards the end of the conversation, he asked and was told that the PPD has been demoing LiveView since the beginning of the year without council approval.
"I supported this all night for two and a half hours, and my entire argument as to why my colleagues should vote for this was because, 'Don't worry, guys, the code protects us so that they can't use it without our approval.' Chapter 18.5 states, 'Acquiring or borrowing new surveillance technology,'" he said.
"That means you guys, you using this actively is in violation of city code. That right there loses my support. I can't argue. 'Let's trust them' when you're not following the rules of the council."
This grant would have purchased the package of two drones, the Skydio R10, a controller, the software, and covered training and operational expenses. PPD has 11 drones in its program established in 2024, and said this equipment would have modernized and diversified the fleet.
"There was a grant, and it was an opportunity for us to just increase our use with the drones and increase our drone program. That was my thought behind it. That was my intent behind it," Police Chief Marc Maddalena said.
"I mean, to everyone's point here, I did not do my due diligence in regards to reviewing the grant with a fine-tooth comb, and when I did look at it, and I saw those concerns, 53-54, again, my interpretation is I'm still bound by state law, and I would always act under what the state is telling me to do as far as interactions with immigration."
Police insisted the drones are used for search and rescue, and not for surveillance. The city solicitor said the drone would fit the definition of surveillance, but if police determine there are exigent circumstances warranting use, it would be exempt from the surveillance ordinance.
Ward 6 Councilor Dina Lampiasi was very uncomfortable getting into a contract with "a company that has the history that this company has," naming LiveView. Officer James Sena, who leads the drone program, earlier said they don't store data and instead use a cellular network to send the signal.
Moody said the software stores data in the cloud where the city can no longer control it, unlike the current drone system that uses physical data storage.
"There is so much going on behind the scenes, and how data is being used and traded, and how people's privacy is being violated, and now this is going into the realm of working with an agency that is taking our neighbors away and sending them to places where nobody knows if they're still alive," Lampiasi said, referencing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
"And I know that for some it seems like we're talking about extremes right now, but it's not. It's all connected, and we as a city and as elected leaders, it's our responsibility to make sure that we're doing our due diligence to not just say, 'OK, it's not stored anywhere; nobody is going to use it because they said so.' We need more information, and that information isn't being provided to us. For our national security, we have to do better. For our local security, not having the answers isn't enough."
Tags: drones,
