St. Paul City Council hesitant over grant application for police to acquire more drones

St. Paul Police Deputy Chief Kurt Hallstrom answering questions about a drone grant application during a Sept. 2, 2026 City Council meeting. Photo: Harry Colbert, Jr.

The St. Paul Police Department (SPPD) currently has three drones, but many residents and at least two council members don’t want any more. 

With several people in the council chambers holding signs of protest of both drone surveillance and the company Skydio, with whom SPPD contracts, the council held a preliminary discussion on a $200,000 grant application through the Department of Justice to purchase more flying cameras. Although the board voted unanimously to hold off until next Wednesday as to whether or not it will approve the SPPD application, it was made apparent there is already opposition. 

“Whether we vote today or vote next week, I will be voting no on this grant application,” said Ward 4 Councilmember Molly Coleman. “We have been having a conversation here over the past several months about how we are balancing our policing needs with surveillance and our civil rights. We need to ensure that we are building trust with our policing decisions.” 

Councilmember Hwa Jeong Kim (Ward 5) indicated she too would not support the grant application. Council President Rebecca Noecker (Ward 2) didn’t indicate her vote, but had several pointed questions for Deputy Chief Kurt Hallstrom, including who controls the data collected by the Skydio drones. 

Hallstrom said the department maintains all data and it is not shared with any other agencies. 

Noecker also raised concerns about possible drone surveillance. 

“The questions I hear from residents are, ‘Is there a drone outside my window? Is it following me?’” said Noecker. 

According to Hallstrom, all drone flights are publicly available on the city’s webpage within 12 hours of a flight. 

“Is there a drone outside someone’s window, I don’t know, but it’s certainly not ours,” said Hallstrom, who said flights are made strictly in response to a call of an incident. 

Last week the city ended the use of Flock cameras after an outcry from residents over surveillance and data concerns.