How Alhambra PD Used a Drone to Find a Missing Woman in Minutes | Flock Aerodome DFR
The short version: Flock's own promo video touts a feel-good drone rescue in Alhambra, but it's also a pitch for expanding aerial surveillance with little independent oversight.
Our Take
This clip comes straight from Flock Safety's marketing team, not a neutral news outlet, and that context matters. A missing elderly woman found safely is genuinely good news, and credit to Alhambra PD for that outcome. But the video is also a sales reel for Flock's "Drone as First Responder" program, using an emotionally compelling case to soften the public up for a much bigger expansion of aerial monitoring over American neighborhoods.
The pattern here is familiar: a single sympathetic anecdote is used to justify a permanent, always-on surveillance capability that will be used for far more than missing persons. Once a department owns drones that can be launched citywide in minutes, the mission creeps — routine patrols, traffic stops, protests, and generalized aerial tracking tend to follow. None of that gets mentioned in a company-produced testimonial, and there's rarely a public vote or clear policy limiting how footage is stored, shared, or cross-referenced with ALPR data.
Communities deserve to know not just the best-case stories but the full scope of what they're signing up for — retention periods, data sharing agreements, and whether any independent body is auditing use. If your city is considering Flock drones or cameras, check our camera map to see what's already deployed near you, and use our take-action resources to push for real transparency before approval, not after.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of Flock, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.