Stockton OKs $3.15M Flock drone plan with AI search, privacy fight grows

Key Takeaways

1. Stockton approved a more than $3 million Flock contract expansion on March 31 to add six drones as first responders.
2. The amendment extends through April 2031, pushing the deal’s potential value above $5.4 million over five years.
3. First-year costs are $390,000, then $690,000 annually, with funding expected from grants and an option to end if money falls short.
4. The package includes FreeForm, an AI tool that lets plain‑language searches run across plate-reader images and video.

What the council approved

Six drones, city officials say they can lift off in as little as 30 seconds and beam live video before an officer arrives. It’s fast. Police Lt. David Padula told the council the Flock system would allow quick deployments and real time updates for officers already at a scene. The council on March 31 added Flock’s Drone as First Responder platform to Stockton’s existing camera network and extended the agreement to April 2031.

The expansion includes radar-based detect‑and‑avoid tech, FAA regulatory support, training and 911 call integration. It also folds in FreeForm, an AI-enabled tool that lets staff run plain‑language searches across license plate reader images and video streams. Mayor Christina Fugazi called drones as first responders “the future” during her State of the City speech. In a Flock promo photo, a quadcopter hovers near a roofline.

What it costs and who pays

Contract records show the first year at $390,000, then $690,000 in recurring annual costs that the department expects to cover with grants. If the money doesn’t come through in future years, the agreement allows the city to end the contract without penalties. Grant money, if it shows up. The March 31 amendment brought the contract’s potential value to more than $5.4 million over five years, building on a Flock deal that dates to 2021 and added features in 2024.

Stockton already runs roughly 120 automated license plate reader cameras across the city, with scans logged by time, date and location. That context matters because the debate is now less about a single drone flight and more about how the larger system stores and shares data.

Privacy questions and Flock’s response

Public comment ran for more than an hour and was largely opposed, focusing on surveillance, data sharing and immigration enforcement. The Stockton Community Check‑In Booth called the investment “militarization and surveillance,” arguing it arrives while other community programs face cuts. Republican congressional candidate John McBride labeled the system “a total invasion of privacy,” saying private platforms complicate public records access.

Flock says local agencies own and control their data, that sharing is off by default, and that federal agencies are blocked from discovering or requesting California data. The company says every search is logged in an immutable audit trail and drone flights appear on a public transparency dashboard. Those positions follow controversies elsewhere, including reported CBP access in Colorado, a state audit in Illinois, Mountain View’s suspension, and Santa Cruz’s vote to end its contract.

Former council member and vice mayor Kimberly Warmsley said the scale of opposition signaled residents want the city to slow down. “People are concerned about transparency, inclusion and accountability,” she said. “I’m not confident this technology increases that.”

Central Valley AI is produced by the CVAI Newsdesk team and developed by Kaweah Tech, a regional firm that builds, deploys, and integrates AI solutions for businesses across California's Central Valley.

Source

https://stocktonia.org/news/local-government/2026/06/08/stockton-flock-drones-what-to-know/