San Francisco Recreation and Park Department comes under fire after residents discover its use of drones. (Image source: KGO-TV)

A police report lists a quadcopter and a GoPro camera, valued at about $3,000, among the stolen items. Someone apparently smashed the window of an employee’s personal vehicle parked in front of the department’s offices and snatched the equipment from the back seat, KGO-TV reported.

Recreation and Parks Department spokeswoman Sarah Ballard said the drones help them money: ”We were testing the use of the aerial cameras for some maintenance purposes, including assessing tree tops, [and] conditions of roofs,” Ballard said.

But San Francisco residents see it another way.