The city of Chula Vista is doubling down on a legal dispute over its police drone footage, opting to take its case to the California Supreme Court after a recent appellate court decision. The standoff centers on a public records request for all drone video recordings from March 2021, which the city refused, citing privacy concerns and logistical nightmares.
"The Chula Vista Police Department's Drone Program provides support to officers on the ground to make better-informed decisions to advance public and officer safety," the city stated. They stressed that drones are not used for patrolling the skies but are deployed strictly in response to service calls. The city's reticence to release the footage is not a play for secrecy but rather an effort to prevent privacy invasions and exploitation of sensitive data.
In December 2023, the Court of Appeal ruled that some of the videos might be open to disclosure, but it did not mandate the city to release any footage just yet. Despite the court's acknowledgment of Chula Vista's substantial public data offerings, including every flight path of the drones, the city council fears the ruling could impinge on the privacy of its citizens, triggering the push for a Supreme Court review, which was decided on January 9.
"With privacy in mind, we incorporated in the Drone Program strict privacy controls limiting access to drone video footage," stated the City of Chula Vista regarding its drone policies influenced by community feedback and California's privacy laws. Their policies are rigorous in limiting the availability of the footage to protect personal information that might appear in the videos—including but not limited to faces and license plates, according to the city's statement.
