Cleveland Police have received approval to use drones under a new policy passed by the Cleveland Community Police Commission in November 2024. The policy allows the use of drones for law enforcement purposes but bans their deployment for crowd control or protest surveillance. Deployments need to be approved by the police chief, and flight paths must be posted online within 48 hours. Videos will be deleted after 30 days, if they are not needed for an investigation.
The Cleveland Police Chief and some city council members are taking issue with the approved drone policy/restrictions.