Presenting and Defending Drone Evidence

Drone as First Responder (DFR) programs are changing how agencies patrol, respond, and gather evidence, and the legal questions that come with them will increasingly land on a prosecutor's desk. This session uses real footage of DFR missions in the field to walk through what these programs mean for the cases prosecutors handle, from how evidence is captured to how it can be challenged in court.

Ryan Kao, Director, Public Safety Strategy & Legal Counsel at Skydio, unpacks what prosecutors need to know about aerial observation in these missions. He'll cover how overflight and observation law applies to drone flights, what altitude and vantage point mean for lawful capture, and how thermal imaging and accumulated flight data raise new considerations that can shape a case.

Key Takeaways

• Understand how courts have approached aerial observation as drones take on a growing role in public safety operations.
• See how altitude and vantage point shape what a drone can lawfully capture during a mission.
• Learn how sensor technology, including thermal imaging, affects the strength and admissibility of evidence.
• Explore how accumulated flight data can raise separate legal questions from any single mission.
• Walk away with a practical framework for assessing legal risk and evidentiary value in DFR cases.

If you've been watching DFR programs expand and wondering what it means for your casework, this session is built for you.