The Fort Worth Police Department has expanded its use of drones as law enforcement agencies across North Texas continue to develop additional elements in their arsenals.

However, with this expansion of capabilities, concerns persist about safety, potential weaponization, and privacy.

The operation of civil unmanned aircraft systems is managed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). While cities are allowed to use some discretion in the use of drones within their borders, those regulations must be in line with FAA standards for hobbyists and commercial operators.

These uses of a UAS are managed by the FAA’S Part 107 Small UAS Rule.

Although the FAA regulates commercial and civilian use of drones and prohibits the use of one with a weapon payload, the regulations do not appear to apply in the same manner to the police or local government. This makes room for states to develop their own policies for the official use of drones capable of using force.

The Texas Code of Criminal Procedure outlines and authorizes law enforcement to use drones capable of force as long as set parameters are met within a written policy submitted to the state.

The Texas Penal Code outlines the limitations of use by force with a drone. Use of force is deemed “justified” when the operator is a law enforcement agent, the drone was not autonomous, and was in line with any other subdivision or chapter.

Several cities in North Texas appear to have such policies allowing for the use of these drones, one of those being the city of Fort Worth.

The Fort Worth Police Department mainly uses its drones for missing person cases or for surveillance. The FWPD however has deployed its fleet to enforce social distancing among the homeless population in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The police used this drone at a homeless camp near E. Lancaster Avenue and S. Riverside Drive, deploying a drone equipped with a sound system in order to inform the vagrant population of police orders.

The department did not issue any citations at that time.

The FWPD also deployed a drone and robot in order to resolve a standoff in March 2022.

While the FWPD does not currently have any drones with a chassis capable of supporting a weapon, it is authorized to deploy weaponized drones.

The FWPD UAS standard operating procedures dictate that “deployment of any type of projectile, chemical agent, explosive, or electrical current weapon from a UAS is strictly prohibited unless approved by the Chief of Police or designee.”

This policy is similar to that of the city of Dallas, according to which a weaponized drone also cannot be deployed unless approved by the Chief of Police, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.