But while law enforcement groups across the state add drones to their tool kits — including in Bellingham and Everett — the Seattle Police Department says it has no plans to do the same.

This is because of the city’s surveillance ordinance, said department spokesperson Sgt. Patrick Michaud. Approved in 2017, a law says Seattle agencies need the City Council’s permission to adopt new technology that can record its surroundings — a process that takes months.

Yet drones still fly in the city. Instead of getting their own, Seattle police have been relying on King County’s fleet.