Grand Forks PD June 2011 drone emails

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to North Dakota Constitution, Article XI, Section 6, and the North Dakota Open Records Statute, N.D.C.C. § 44-04-18(1), I hereby request the following records:

Emails and written communications related to the June 23 and 24, 2011 drone incident, as described in the letter (copied below) from Lt. Dwight Love dated 30 Jan 2013.

Please include emails exchanged with the following organizations between June 20, 2011 and July 10, 2011:
-Nelson County Sheriff's Department
-Customs and Border Patrol Air Security Unit

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as I believe this request is in the public interest. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.

In the event that fees cannot be waived, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I would request your response within ten (10) business days.

Sincerely,

Shawn Musgrave

Lt. Love,

Apologies. See below.

Thanks,
Shawn

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To: Mr. Shawn Musgrave
From: Lt. Dwight Love
Date: 01-30-13
Re: Drone usage request

Upon review of our files; the Grand Forks Police Department does not possess and/or own a drone and therefore does not have any information as to cost allocations, budgets, and/or research information into purchasing an aerial drone.

Because we do not have or intend to purchase a “drone”; we do not have any policies, guidelines, manuals and/or instructions on the institutional use of drones.

On June 23rd and June 24th, 2011; our Regional SWAT team was requested by Nelson County Sheriff’s Department for an arrest and search warrant involving armed suspects. During this activation of our Regional SWAT team; the Custom Border Patrol Air Security Unit was also requested. This involved the use of drones to oversee the operation.

Due to the fact that the Grand Forks Police Department do not own or operate this type of equipment, I cannot answer the questions you have asked such as: storage requirements, altitude in which they fly, and their ability to carry weapons.

Sincerely,

Lt. Dwight Love
Office of Professional Standards
Grand Forks Police Department
701-787-8184: Office