While police officers made headlines last summer for firing tear gas and rubber bullets at protestors in Orange County, there’s another piece of military equipment they use much more that receives less attention – drones.
At least three of the county’s largest law enforcement offices are ratcheting up their spending and use of drones with little public discussion, according to annual disclosures released highlighting how they used military equipment over the past year.
It comes as state officials report a drop in homicide, car thefts, violent crime, property crime and robbery since 2019 across the Golden State.
Between the spring of last year and this year, OC Sheriff deputies used drones almost 500 times while Santa Ana officials are expected to spend almost $700,000 over three years on drones after facing concerns over their response at ICE protests in June 2025.
Irvine leaders alone flew drones 4,300 times this year according to their reports, with over 850 hours of airtime in one year and 21 pilots on their drone team, according to the latest military equipment use reports.
It’s equipment Santa Ana leaders say police used to decide not to respond to calls for assistance by federal agents at a protest in early January after officials faced intense public scrutiny for police firing tear gas and rubber bullets on protesters last summer.
Councilwoman Thai Viet Phan said Homeland Security agents called on Santa Ana police seven times for assistance at a demonstration at the beginning of this year but officers refused after they used a drone to assess if they should help.
“To me, that is the absolute correct way to use these drones in order to prevent SAPD from being deployed in order to prevent other agencies from utilizing SAPD for their purposes,” she said at the Feb. 3 meeting where officials approved the contract for the drones.
“This was how we were able to allow Santa Ana residents to protest and exercise their First Amendment rights. This was how the use of a drone helped residents protest the illegal and terrible things that ICE is doing.”
At that demonstration, federal officers allegedly shot a protestor in the eye with a projectile.
Surveillance Raises Concerns
A traffic light Orange County JAKE RANDAZZO, Voice
Some residents and activists worry about how the drones will be used, raising concerns about surveilling residents, how the footage will be used, stored and whether the videos could be shared with immigration agents.
It’s not just drones.
Officials across OC are moving forward with ramping up street cameras and automated license plate readers to beef up surveillance despite growing privacy concerns and fears of the footage falling into the hands of federal immigration agents.
[Read: OC Cities Look to Beef Up Surveillance Amid Privacy Concerns]
Those increases are coming as many of those same cities and the county are struggling with structural budget deficits, warning they need to tighten the belt while expanding their surveillance programs.
[Read: How Rocky Are Orange County’s Municipal Budgets?]
Other cities are also eying drones to enforce illegal firework usage.
Sheriffs Ramp Up Drone Use
The Orange County Sheriffs Department headquarters in Santa Ana. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC
Orange County Sheriff’s deputies more than more than tripled their total use of drones this year, deploying them nearly 500 times compared to 150 times last year, according to disclosures.
This year, the county sheriffs reported the single piece of military equipment that made up over 77% of their total military equipment use was their drone fleet, which was deployed at least once a week throughout the county, according to disclosures.
Much of that usage went to the county jails, with disclosures noting that 80% of the military equipment used in the prisons was “for drone deployment to assist with patrol checks.”
The Orange County Sheriff’s Department serve as the police force for the cities of Lake Forest, Laguna Woods, Laguna Hills, Aliso Viejo, Laguna Niguel, Mission Viejo, San Juan Capistrano, Dana Point, San Clemente, Villa Park, Stanton and Yorba Linda, along with the unincorporated communities.
When they were deployed by deputies in the field, they were mostly used in Lake Forest, Mission Viejo and San Clemente according to disclosures, which also cited them as the patrol division’s most used piece of military equipment.
“Over 85% of usage was for drone deployment to document crime scenes, conduct search and rescue operations, investigate traffic collisions, or assist with surveillance and patrol checks,” reads the report.
Most of the sheriff’s drone fleet is from Da Jiang Innovations, a Chinese company banned from use in the US military amid concerns the drones could be used for spying by the Chinese government.
[Read: Why Do OC Police Departments Use Drones Blacklisted by Federal Government?]
While state legislators have weighed banning their use by local police departments as well, the bills have never been signed into law.
Santa Ana Fired Hundreds of Rubber Bullets; Eyes Drones
Santa Ana Police Department forms a line during protests amid expanded immigration enforcement on June 9, 2025. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC
Santa Ana used borrowed drones 12 times but the use of it is expected to increase after city council members approved in February an up to nearly $683,000 three-year contract for five drones despite privacy and surveillance concerns.
During the same period, Santa Ana officials fired over 200 rubber bullets, nearly 60 bean bag rounds and used tear gas nearly 40 times, according to their military equipment use report.
The report comes after police officials in Santa Ana failed to disclose their use of their weapons for two previous years due to an administrative mistake despite it being required by the state.
The use of the weapons occurred over a period of time marked by ICE raids, demonstrations against widespread deportations and rampant public concerns about Santa Ana police officers firing less lethal rounds and chemical agents on protestors.
In April, police leaders publicly answered questions for the first time and said they couldn’t ignore federal agents’ calls for assistance at the protests because they were worried they would bring out their own officers to deal with protestors.
[Read: Santa Ana Police Called to Aid Federal Officers Before Firing on ICE Protesters Last Year]
According to the city website, the drones will be used for emergency incidents, fireworks, police pursuits, search and rescue and not for immigration enforcement or surveilling the public.
The drones will be paid for by state and local law enforcement assistance grants and maintenance for the drones is estimated to cost about $21,000 a year.
Irvine Goes Further in on Drones Than Other Cities
The Irvine Civic Center on April 11, 2023. Credit: GIL BOTHWELL, Voice of OC
Irvine leaders disclosed the most use of drones over the past year, with over 4,300 flights and 850 hours in the air according to disclosures.
The year before, the department flew 2,900 flights across over 700 hours of airtime according to disclosures.
It’s also come with a large investment by city leaders, who’ve spent nearly $200,000 just maintaining their existing drones over the past year.
They’ve also continued to expand the city’s drone as first responder program, which launched 1,250 times this year to beat police officers to the scene and offer them a look at what was going on.
“(Drone First Responder) operations now fly from nine locations, providing coverage across a significant portion of the City,” reads the department’s report. “Additional drone boxes are planned to further expand coverage, with the long-term goal of achieving citywide rapid response capabilities.”
City leaders didn’t discuss the drone usage at their April 28 meeting reviewing the disclosure, with Mayor Larry Agran saying the city is on the right track.
City Councilman Mike Carroll said they shouldn’t have to have an annual disclosure or discussion on their military equipment.
“This is the greatest police department in the history of our country,” Carroll said. “The fact you guys have to detail this stuff bothers me greatly.”
Hosam Elattar is a Voice of OC reporter. Contact him at helattar@voiceofoc.org.
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