Athens City Council voted 5-2 on Feb. 17 to not move a proposed drone technology grant for the Athens Police Department to regular session, according to a previous report by The Post.
The Ohio Department of Transportation offered the grant through DriveOhio, an initiative that supports technology aimed at improving safety and mobility across the state.
DriveOhio developed the grant, called the Drones for First Responders Pilot Program, in September and October 2025 under Ohio House Bill 96. The program is designed to allow law enforcement, fire departments and medical services to assess emergency scenes before ground units arrive.
Athens Police Chief Nick Magruder said drones could provide aerial imaging during emergencies and improve response times.
For example, Magrudar said drones could help officials assess damage from a car crash, determine the needs for the situation and identify the fastest route for responders to reach the scene.
Though overall crime rates have remained steady, Magruder said car break-ins have become a more recent issue in the city.
“With our headlights on and someone's breaking into cars, they usually kind of hide in between cars or get behind buildings,” Magruder said. “I mean, this (search) could have been up above where they would have never known it was there, and we could have been monitoring that, and that's been a huge issue for residents and students lately.”
Thermal cameras on the drones could also help assess fire emergencies and allow first responders to avoid dangerous areas of a building, Magruder said.
The Athens Police Department requested an application for the grant Nov. 3, 2025, and submitted its application by Nov. 21, 2025, according to Magruder.
In January, ODOT selected nine municipalities from 110 applicants, including Athens.
The DFR grant is a reimbursement grant, meaning the recipient initially covers costs and is reimbursed later by the state, according to Congress.gov.
Service-Safety Director Andy Stone sent a request for the funds to Councilmember Paul Isherwood's committee to review the grant.
The request did not advance during its first reading before the council and again failed during the second reading.
During the first meeting in which the grant was discussed, Magruder said officers were searching for a runaway 16-year-old girl in the snow-covered woods between Hope Drive and Dow Lake. Magruder said a drone could have located the girl faster than the two hours it took officers to find her.
Council President Micah McCarey said the proposal raised concerns beyond the grant itself.
“We are now discussing (the DFR pilot program) in the committee of the whole because this has moved from just a discussion of a grant opportunity for a city safety resource, to one that has clearly had implications for concerns about privacy and civil liberties,” McCarey said.
Isherwood said the drone technology could help first responders respond more effectively to emergencies, and the city would be reimbursed for the cost within two years.
During the Feb. 17 meeting, McCarey discussed a proposed policy that would amend Athens City Code Title 3 to add a section on advanced technology and civil liberties. The policy would require the police department to develop a comprehensive advanced technology usage policy for technology, such as drones, body-worn cameras and automated license plate readers.
Magruder said the drones would not begin recording until they reached an emergency scene and would include redaction tools built into the system.
“One thing that a lot of these programs had that we were looking at was a transparency portal that anytime that drone left the ground, it was documented,” Magruder said. “It showed where it went, how far it went, how high it was, how long it was up, and that was a public portal for people to see if they were interested in seeing why the drone was up.”
Brenda Searcy, an Athens resident, raised concerns about potential impacts on civil liberties if the program were implemented
Searcy referenced residents who are not U.S. citizens who may fear increased surveillance. She also referenced new recording technologies, including smart glasses developed by Meta, that have raised privacy concerns.
While holding a sign reading “NO DRONES” in red letters, Searcy also mentioned case law allowing law enforcement to use surveillance for identification and evidence.
“It’s not an unreasonable search if it’s subsequent to a lawful arrest,” Searcy said. “People who are not following those guardrails, that are far from the city of Athens, will have access to those (footage).”
Magruder said he and members of the department were disappointed by the Council’s decision.
“A lot of the officers really thought that a lot of the trust between us and the citizens was kind of not there, that we thought was there.”
