Publisher: Central Oregon Daily News
Date Published: July 2, 2026
Relevant To: LOCAL: Redmond PD drone purchase (Axon/Skydio); Deschutes County drone policy tracking
Verification Status: Verified
Notes: Confirmed via full-text fetch. HIGH LOCAL PRIORITY: Redmond, OR (Deschutes County, adjacent to Bend) City Council awarded a $410,762 contract at its June 23, 2026 meeting to Axon Enterprises Inc. (Arizona-based) for six new Skydio drones, replacing Redmond PD’s existing drone fleet (in use since approximately 2019). Payment is structured over 5 years. Redmond PD Lt. April Huey stated the purchase is intended to (1) maintain the department’s existing drone program and (2) “increase our use of technology to provide services beyond what a regular patrol officer could do while being compliant with new federal regulation.” Cited use cases: searching for missing children and locating suspects hiding in terrain like the Dry Canyon rock walls. Note the reference to “new federal regulation” compliance is unexplained in this article — worth following up on what specific federal drone regulation change is being referenced, since that could be relevant to BPA’s broader drone-policy tracking (topic already exists in BPA’s taxonomy: Drone/UAS Policy). Companion source: Redmond Spokesman (redmondspokesman.com) published the original/more detailed report July 1, 2026. This is squarely within BPA’s home turf — recommend treating as a candidate for direct local follow-up (public records request for the Skydio contract terms, data retention policy, and any council meeting minutes/video from June 23).