Evanston Drone and Uav Acquisition, Policy, and Use

All documents created from January 2018 through the date this request is processed related to the agency's use of airborne tools, vehicles, and weapons: aerial drones, remotely piloted vehicles (RPVs), remotely piloted aircraft (RPAs), unmanned aerials (UAs), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and/or unmanned aerial systems (UASs)(hereinafter “drones”).

Please search specifically records in each of the below document categories. A response to each of the categories and items would be appreciated.

ACQUISITION AND PROCUREMENT
i) requests for proposals (RFPs), proposals/quotes submitted by vendors, contracts, leases, budget requests, project/equipment budgets, cost allocations or reimbursements for the purchase of drone equipment;
ii) Grant applications and award letters for drone equipment purchases;
iii) Insurance contracts for all drone equipment;
iv) Communications (including electronic communications) between the agency head or agency quartermaster (or individual responsible for equipment purchases and maintenance) and drone vendors, manufacturers or retailers;
v) Communications (including electronic communications) between the agency head and agency quartermaster (or individual responsible for equipment purchases and maintenance) regarding acquisition, lease or use of drone equipment;
vi) Communications (including electronic communications) between the agency head and the governor, mayor and city/town manager regarding the acquisition of drones;

AUTHORIZATION
vii) Applications (including all components and support documentation) for Certificates of Waiver/Authorization (COA) from the Federal Aviation Administration, as well as COA grant notifications and final agreement;
viii) Contracts for services related to drones, such as data storage, data analysis, image storage, image analysis, video storage, video analysis, operation, maintenance;

EQUIPMENT LOGS and ADD-ONS
i) Inventories/logs/lists/databases of all drones owned, leased or operated by or for the agency;
ii) Maintenance logs for all drones owned, leased or otherwise operated by or for the agency;
iii) records and logs related to any attachments or additional equipment used or designed to be used with the drones, including all license plate readers, video cameras, thermal cameras, data storage, Stingrays or cell phone simulators, etc.

POLICIES AND GUIDANCE
i) Policies, guidelines, protocols, manuals and/or instructions on the use/operation of drones and usage of data, images and video obtained from drone flights;
ii) Communications from the agency head, quartermaster (or individual responsible for overseeing equipment purchases and maintenance) on approved uses for drones;
iii) Memorandums of understanding (MOUs), memorandums of agreement (MOAs) or any other agreements or contracts with other government agencies, private corporations, organizations or individuals to share drone equipment, data, images or video or to operate drones on behalf of the agency;

TRAINING DOCUMENTS
i) Curriculum used to train drone operators and observers;
ii) Training log for all drone operators and observers;
iii) Certifications of training completion for all drone operators and observers;
iv) Contracts, purchase orders, budget requests or reimbursement orders for training sessions for all drone operators and observers;

USE DOCUMENTS AND DATA
i) Flight logs for all drone flights, including training flights;
ii) Flight logs transmitted to the Federal Aviation Administration pursuant to Certificate of Waiver/Authorization (COA) requirements;
iii) Reprimands relating to drones, including misuse of equipment and failure to properly maintain equipment.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter.

I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 5 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Niles Coalition

Hello,

Yes, we understand the extent of this request and would be happy to work with you for a comprehensive fulfillment of responsive records. Thank you for the update.

Thank you for the additional documents from EFD. We are still waiting for document related to section "USE DOCUMENTS AND DATA"

i) Flight logs for all drone flights, including training flights;

Thank you.

Hello,

We left a voice mail message for Evanston City Clerk Stephanie Mendoza on Thursday December 14th regarding the status of this FOIA request. We don't see any flight logs provided in the responsive documents. This request is over a month old at this point and we would like to resolve this in a timely manner. Thank you.

Hello,

We talked with Sarah Jones and it was communicated to us that the flight logs were being extracted from the drone(s) and will be added to this FOIA request soon.

Thank you, can you please include all raw log files from the drones.

Hello Sarah Jones.

On 12/19/2023 we spoke on the phone and you said that the flight logs were being extracted from the drone(s) and will be added to this FOIA request. A few days later on 12/21/2023 a spreadsheet titled "Evanston_Police_UAV_Flight_Log.xlsx" was added to the responsive records but no log files from the drones were included. These files existed during this request and we are seeking log files for flights that are not subject to paragraph (1), (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), or (9) of Section 15 of (725 ILCS 167/1) *[1].

We are seeking log files that fall within the scope of (725 ILCS 167/20) Sec. 20.(b)(4) which reads: "(4) the information consists of only flight path data, metadata, or telemetry information of the drone. (Source: P.A. 103-101, eff. 6-16-23.)" Flight log files under entries described as "Pilot routine training flight" fall within this description and should be made public.

*[1]
"Sec. 15. Exceptions. This Act does not prohibit the use of a drone by a law enforcement agency:
(1) To counter a high risk of a terrorist attack by a specific individual or organization if the United States Secretary of Homeland Security determines that credible intelligence indicates that there is that risk.
(2) If a law enforcement agency first obtains a search warrant based on probable cause issued under Section 108-3 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963. The warrant must be limited to a period of 45 days, renewable by the judge upon a showing of good cause for subsequent periods of 45 days.
(3) If a law enforcement agency possesses reasonable suspicion that, under particular circumstances, swift action is needed to prevent imminent harm to life, or to forestall the imminent escape of a suspect or the destruction of evidence. The use of a drone under this paragraph (3) is limited to a period of 48 hours. Within 24 hours of the initiation of the use of a drone under this paragraph (3), the chief executive officer of the law enforcement agency must report in writing the use of a drone to the local State's Attorney.
(4) If a law enforcement agency is not undertaking a criminal investigation but is attempting to locate a missing person, engaging in search and rescue operations, or aiding a person who cannot otherwise be safely reached.
(5) If a law enforcement agency is using a drone solely for crime scene and traffic crash scene photography. Crime scene and traffic crash photography must be conducted in a geographically confined and time-limited manner to document specific occurrences. The use of a drone under this paragraph (5) on private property requires either a search warrant based on probable cause under Section 108-3 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 or lawful consent to search. The use of a drone under this paragraph (5) on lands, highways, roadways, or areas belonging to this State or political subdivisions of this State does not require a search warrant or consent to search. Any law enforcement agency operating a drone under this paragraph (5) shall make every reasonable attempt to only photograph the crime scene or traffic crash scene and avoid other areas.
(6) If a law enforcement agency is using a drone during a disaster or public health emergency, as defined by Section 4 of the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act. The use of a drone under this paragraph (6) does not require an official declaration of a disaster or public health emergency prior to use. A law enforcement agency may use a drone under this paragraph (6) to obtain information necessary for the determination of whether or not a disaster or public health emergency should be declared, to monitor weather or emergency conditions, to survey damage, or to otherwise coordinate response and recovery efforts. The use of a drone under this paragraph (6) is permissible during the disaster or public health emergency and during subsequent response and recovery efforts.
(9) In response to Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) dispatched calls for service, when the sole purpose for using a drone is for one or more first responders to locate victims, to assist with immediate victim health or safety needs, or to coordinate the response of emergency vehicles and personnel to an emergency. As used in this paragraph (9), "Public Safety Answering Point" and "PSAP" have the meaning given to those terms in Section 2 of the Emergency Telephone System Act."

<https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=3520&ChapterID=54>