Tag Archives: police

NYC Drone Operators Charged

Posted on by

After an alleged near-miss with a NYPD helicopter over the George Washington Bridge, two drone operators have been arrested and will face charges for reckless endangerment. The NY Post has more details, including an allegation that the drones were being operated at an altitude of 2,000 feet.

The author of the Forbes article (at the first link) argues that no additional laws are necessary in a case like this:

Remy Castro, 23 and Wilkins Mendoza, 34 were charged in Manhattan Criminal Court with felony reckless endangerment. That law states:

“A person is guilty of reckless endangerment in the first degree when, under circumstances evincing a depraved indifference to human life, he recklessly engages in conduct which creates a grave risk of death to another person.”

The author discusses whether the charge might be reduced to misdemeanor endangerment, given the high burden of proof for a charge of felony endangerment. His reasoning seems correct to us.

Watching the watchers

Posted on by

Perhaps this guy has way too much time on his hands, but he’s conducting an interesting experiment in citizen vigilance:

A South Bay man who routinely records police activity has started using an unmanned drone to help with filming, just the latest example of how law enforcement is increasingly encountering the technology on the civilian side.

Of course, the FAA quotes never cease to give me a chuckle:

The FAA estimated in a report that there could be 7,500 civilian hobbyist drones in use within five years. Federal officials said they hope to craft clearer civilian drone rules by 2015, but some experts said that’s too optimistic a timeline.

Ya’ think?