Our statement on mass surveillance in Saint Paul

No amount of Al-powered mass surveillance is safe for our communities. Community control over it will not prevent it from causing serious harm and continued violations of our basic civil liberties.

Ending the Axon, Flock and Skydio contracts are the first step. Flock is a small part of the problem of the wider issue of mass surveillance technology. Cancelling only Flock allows Axon or another competitor to take its place. We are demanding laws and regulations that prevent Al-powered mass surveillance technology from being used in the city. Once contracts are in place, the city can and has expanded them to include additional technology without oversight (search SPPD Docked Drone Program).

If private or non-profit entities are allowed to have mass surveillance, they can sell it or share it with law enforcement (search Project NOLA).

What we’ve learned so far

The city has contracts with Flock, Axon and Skydio — which provide goods & services to the city that are Al-powered, or Al-capable. If SPPD claims they “don’t use Al,” the equipment and software are capable of using it.

The city has yet to provide copies of the Axon or Skydio contracts. At this time, we don’t know what other Al-capable surveillance hardware or software, the city has contracted for.

Earlier this year, SPPD quietly rolled out an Axon service called “Community Connect,” which allows the city to connect to privately owned surveillance systems. This program is part of the wider “Axon Fusus” surveillance program which connects surveillance data collected from different systems under “one single pane of glass.” To date, we have not been able to locate any oversight, approval, or press / media about the city using this program. The only information we can locate is a link to the program on the SPPD website.

As discussed at the June 24, 2026 Public Safety Committee meeting, SPPD’s data was accessed during Operation Metro Surge. ACLU-MN was able to identify this by matching searches from other cities with the reason “Immigration (civil/administrative).”

Drones

SPPD recently launched what they call “Docked Drones.” This expansion was done without public knowledge or input. Local news media has reported a cost of both $70,000 and $350,000. To date, we do not know how much the city is paying for this program.

On August 5, 2026, Mayor Her posted a photo on social media of her sitting in a room, surrounded by computer monitors, while under her direction, the city worked to forcibly displace members of our community using what the city described as “active monitoring,” i.e. surveillance.

While drones and ALPRs surveilled our neighbors, Mayor Her and staff sat in a room watching homes being destroyed on a screen. This is an example of how this technology is not only dehumanizing, but it removes layers of accountability and exacerbates systems of harm. The Mayor can destroy your home from behind the comfort of a screen without having to look you in the eyes while doing it.

On August 18, 2026 members of the public attended a community meeting with SPPD:

• SPPD told community members their drones do not use Al. A review of the manual, website and online literature from Skydio states that their drones use Al.
• SPPD explained that the drones are not used for surveillance. During the discussion, they commented that the drones were used for surveillance during the “No Kings” protest on March 28, 2026.
• SPPD repeatedly said that these drones “look to the horizon” with the camera facing up until they reach their destination. Videos of the SPPD using these drones during this meeting contradicted that statement. When pressed for clarification, they explained that the exception to that rule is for “training.” SPPD also agreed that the current policies and required audits would not prevent someone from using the drones for surveillance during “training.”

A note on current and future laws and regulations

Law enforcement and regulators will tell you that we have nothing to worry about because “they do things the right way” or that “Minnesota has the strongest protections.” In response, we say there is no “right way” to conduct mass surveillance.

Legislation or regulation that allows public or private entities to continue using mass surveillance with more regulation, training polices, reporting, etc. is still mass surveillance. We cannot let politicians co-opt this moment to allow mass surveillance with more oversight.

Politicians must act with the urgency and clarity this moment calls for — we demand no mass surveillance — not in the hands of the state, and not in the hands of any entity that can collect it on behalf of the state. We need laws and regulations that protect our constitutional rights as Al-powered technology continues to advance.

We must ban all Al-powered mass surveillance.