he founder of a local cryptocurrency company wants to donate nearly nine-and-a-half million dollars to a new San Francisco Police Department surveillance unit.
The donation is from a nonprofit created by Ripple Labs founder Chris Larsen.
Mission Local reports the donations would be funnelled through The San Francisco Police Community Foundation, which Larsen created two years ago.
The donation would fund the purchase of a dozen police drones. It would also cover the year-and-a-half lease of former Ripple downtown office space for the SFPD’s Real Time Investigation Center.
The center was created last year as the city eased restrictions on police surveillance and expanded the use of technology.
A proposed city ordinance would authorize the police to accept and spend future donations from Larsen’s foundation.
