Fremont’s July 2 drone show, presented by the City of Fremont and Fremont Bank, celebrated America’s 250th birthday and brought many out to Central Park for an evening outdoors. Behind the scenes, the police were working hard to ensure security at the event.
Before the event, Fremont Chamber of Commerce met up with Fremont Police Department’s Business Crime Reduction Unit. This was the first in a planned ongoing series where the chamber and police department meet four times a year to keep communications open. Chamber members asked questions about policing in the city, especially pertaining to preventing retail theft and reporting illegal fireworks.
Chief Floyd Mitchell (sworn in April 2026) spoke about how the police department is working to fill current vacancies, with about 30 hired officers in training now.
A small group of chamber members also toured the police department’s Real Time Information Center, where the police monitor suspicious activity through cameras and also keep track of where their own units are via an updating city map. The department makes use of AI in monitoring; for example if someone reports a suspicious vehicle, an AI can go through all the footage to search for a vehicle of that model and color around a certain place and time.
The chamber then joined the in-progress concert in the park at the nearby lake pavilion. Fremonters showed up en masse to listen and dance to the music, and have picnics or buy food from food trucks pulled up on the lawn. The crowd stayed for the much-anticipated drone show. Although the police department has surveillance drones, the light display drones were rented for the occasion.
As the lights trailed up into the sky, people cheered, and many phones came out to record the display. Although a few drones appeared to be missing, causing some fuzzy letters, people enjoyed seeing the Fremont logo and an appearance from the recreation department mascot, Rege.
The city hasn’t decided whether a drone show at the lake will become an annual event, replacing the fireworks of the past. It depends on costs and logistics. But judging by the enthusiasm at the first drone show, more would be well received by locals.
During the concert and show, and after the event when the streets and parking lots were flooded with people heading home, Fremont Police managed the traffic flow and kept everybody safe.
