Taser-maker Axon partners with DJI on police drone program

The partnership could bring more eyes to the sky.

Taser-maker Axon and drone manufacturer DJI have partnered to sell surveillance drones to US law enforcement agencies. The Axon Air partnership, which Axon promoted in a press release on Tuesday, is designed to protect the chain-of-custody of evidence collected by drones. 

The program does this by linking the DJI drones to Axon's Evidence.com network, a data management system that preserves data from body cameras and in-car cameras.

More than 200,000 public safety professionals use Evidence.com, according to Axon. Axon also makes Tasers and body cameras used by police departments around the country.

More and more police departments are adopting drones, creating tension between public safety and privacy concerns.

"DJI has always been very clear that we do not access any of the photos or videos that our customers produce," DJI spokesman Adam Lisberg said in response to the concerns. "Our customers have full control of their data."

Drones currently available for sale through the Axon Air program are Phantom 4 Pro, Inspire 1, and Matrice 210.