Fourth Circuit Changes Course: Directs Preliminary Injunction To Prohibit Baltimore Police Department's Access To Aircraft-Based Surveillance Program Data

The Fourth Circuit, sitting en banc, recently overturned a previously upheld denial¹ of a preliminary injunction seeking to prohibit the Baltimore Police Department's ('BPD') new aircraft-based surveillance program ('AIR'). AIR used small planes to provide aerial observation of 90% of the city and used that data to track individuals and suspects in the vicinity of a violent crime. The program was implemented in 2016 without informing the public. The program's pilot period ended in October 2020, but the BPD continued to analyze AIR data through December 2020.

Plaintiffs sought a preliminary injunction in April 2020, alleging...