Kennewick City Council hears update on new drone first-responder program

Kennewick City Council convened a special meeting on July 28, 2026, to receive an update and conduct an on-site demonstration of the city’s newly implemented drone first-responder program. The session opened at 5:30 p.m., and council members split into two groups for a brief field demonstration before reconvening for a debrief.

Chief Grower, who led the presentation for the city, said the program dates to equipment purchases made at the end of 2020 and that an updated deployment model was enabled after the city approved an Axon contract late last year. “For those who don't know, drones are not new to the city of Kennewick,” Chief Grower said, and he said he previously presented on the program in March 2021.

The chief described current stationing and staffing: two drones assigned to the police department and one located at Fire Station 3 on the west end of town. He outlined the demonstration plan: council, the city manager and deputy city manager in one group accompanied by an assistant chief; commanders in the other; ten minutes at each drone location; then a training-room session to review success videos.

Chief Grower provided usage figures during the briefing: “As of note from July of last year to end of June this year, we had 306 flights. So far this month, we've had 556 flights,” he said. He also reported that drones arrive on scene before officers in 52% of deployments and that 15% of calls were cleared without an officer needing to respond. The presentation invited questions of the chief and the assistant chief and emphasized that the on-site demonstration and videos were intended to show operational results and protocols.

The meeting concluded after the tour; the chair closed the special session at 6:25 p.m. and noted the next meeting would begin shortly thereafter.