Commission urges council to reject police drone program citing transparency law violations.

The commission voted unanimously to direct city staff to prepare a report (2020 2026) on police-related lawsuit settlements, litigation costs and related legal expenditures, including a brief description of each case where feasible; staff said external vendor costs and settlement checks are locatable but in-house attorney time may not be trackable.

The council received the Santa Ana Police Department's annual AB 481 military‑equipment use report (36 deployments, 21 SWAT activations). After questions on protest responses, 40mm projectiles, and community meetings, the council affirmed the city's ordinance by a 5–2 vote.

The Santa Ana Police Oversight Commission voted 6-0 Feb. 12, 2026 to approve revised U Visa certification procedures incorporating stakeholder input; the city manager accepted the recommendations with minor redline edits and will direct SAPD to implement the policy.

After hours of testimony and a split council debate, Santa Ana approved a contract to buy docked Skydio X10 drones and smaller deployable drones for first‑responder use; the vote was 4–3 and council members stressed safeguards, oversight and public‑records limits.

Staff told the commission there were 313 SAPD vehicle pursuits from Jan 2022–Nov 2025, 90 (30%) resulted in collisions, and tire‑deflation devices were used 10 times; commissioners asked staff to provide breakdowns by CVC violation type, race for reasons of pursuit, and details on $1.2M in settlements tied to off‑duty city vehicles.