Castle Rock police launch first Colorado drone patrols at 400 feet
Castle Rock’s new drone patrols can launch from four miles away, fly at 400 feet and keep footage for 90 days under a $600,000 contract.
Castle Rock police launched daily AI drone patrols at 400 feet under a three-year, $600,000 contract with Flock Safety, making the town the first Colorado agency reported to fly a police drone that high. The move put taxpayer dollars behind a surveillance tool that can reach incidents before officers arrive and adds another layer to the town’s expanding network of cameras and license-plate readers.
The Town of Castle Rock said the Drone as First Responder program was deployed in summer 2025 as an extension of the department’s earlier drone program, which began in 2021, and was publicly introduced in October 2025. Flock said the system could reach incidents within a four-mile radius and had an average response time of 85 seconds. The drone sat in an automated, battery-swapping dock and could be launched from the police department’s real-time crime center, giving officers a live view of a scene before they reached it. The flights were conducted without a visual observer under FAA waivers.
The privacy questions are just as concrete. Castle Rock’s system was integrated with license-plate readers across the Denver metro, and the town said footage was stored for 90 days. In its police technology FAQ, the town described license-plate readers as a resource multiplier for locating wanted criminals, stolen vehicles and missing at-risk people, and for helping detectives with investigations. The town also said police spending was included in annually approved budgets, and it maintained a transparency portal for the Flock system, which it said reflected openness as a pillar of its policing philosophy.
The rollout landed amid a regional debate over surveillance and oversight. Douglas County Sheriff Darren Weekly defended Flock cameras after Denver rejected a contract extension, arguing that the technology helped catch burglars and suspects and that criminals did not respect jurisdictional boundaries. Denver later approved a five-month, no-cost extension with new safeguards, while Colorado lawmakers in 2026 killed Senate Bill 26-70, a bipartisan proposal that would have limited government use of data from automated license-plate readers. For Castle Rock, the tradeoff is now plain: faster policing, wider aerial reach and more persistent monitoring of ordinary movement through the town.
Know something we missed? Have a correction or additional information?
Submit a Tip
