Open season to shoot down drones???

[Cadillac Bill]

Very concerned about this trying to enact State law to shoot down our drones!!

Proposed State Law Would Give Cops the Freedom to Shoot Down Drones

Opinions? Can this be stopped?

 

[flpholt]

don't see it happing

 

[Clipper707]

Without getting into jurisdictions, I'm not opposed to it in concept. If a cop sees your drone flying, this law doesn't give him authority to just shoot it down because he sees it and may not like it.

Law enforcement is defined as:
(a) "Law enforcement officer" includes a sworn and certified peace officer within:
(i) the Division of Forestry, Fire, and State Lands;
(ii) the United States Forest Service;
(iii) the Bureau of Land Management; or
(iv) the National Park Service.

There are 4 defined reasons why law enforcement may neutralize a drone:
(a) protect an individual or property from hazards associated with the emergency or extreme emergency for which a limited flight restriction is created;
(b) provide a safe environment for emergency response vehicles and personnel to operate;
(c) prevent unsafe congestion of aircraft above or around the emergency or extreme emergency for which a limited flight restriction is created; or
(d) protect a flight path of an aircraft being used to respond to the emergency or extreme emergency for which a temporary flight restriction is created.

Seems pretty specific. I don't see how this could be defined as "open season to shoot down drones."

 

[Cadillac Bill]

Looks like he shot a black drone
I should be safe.

Black drones matter

 

[Cadillac Bill]

Muddiness.

Case of Merideth.

"new state law proposed by a Utah legislator would take drone-shooting to a new level of legal acceptability."

Does this open season to property owners? I don't like it either. Does not see possible. But you live in rural areas?

 

[ChrisA]

uuuh, next dumb idea.

 

[Slash300zx]

Not going to happen. First of all Law Enforcement has to have a reason to "shoot" down a drone just like with everything else they do, not just seeing it flying. And secondly, it would be very stupid for law enforcement to start shooting drones since it would mean shooting in the air and what goes up must come down! which means it can cause bodily injuries to bystanders that might be around and that is a liability that I think very few or any officer is going to want to have... you shoot a drone and a stray bullet hits a kid 4 blocks away, yeah that will look real good on the city, department etc etc... and of course the drone itself coming down as well, it can crash and cause damage to someone's property or hurt somebody too... too many liabilities, so I don't see it happening

 

[dirkclod]

Black drones matter

 

[Dr. Dave]

Officer 339 robbery in progress shots fired 123 lake street what is your location
dispatch my location is 128 Lake street
can you respond
not right now I am trying to shoot down a drone
officer 339 you are the closest one why cant you respond
well dispatch I think I was caught on camera by this drone buying some donuts while I was on duty
across the street from the robbery, that was me firing the shots
Okay as soon as the drone is down bring us some donuts and proceed to the robbery
10-4

 

[LuvMyTJ]

Very concerned about this trying to enact State law to shoot down our drones!!

Proposed State Law Would Give Cops the Freedom to Shoot Down Drones

Opinions? Can this be stopped?

Since the FAA says there is no difference between RC aircraft & full scale aircraft how can police be allowed to shoot them down? Doesn't that mean they could also shoot down that pesky Cessna too?

 

[Droner412]

It will never pass and even if it does it will be a pointless feel good law. The police can't just start destroying peoples property unless it's in the best interest of the public, and causing a heavy object with fast rotating props to fall from the sky is pretty much the exact opposite of that..And at the same time I'm sure the police would shoot down a drone in a situation where they fear it is going to be used as a weapon or involved in some sort of crime whether they have that law to "allow" it or not..

 

[ChrisA]

I bet they could get it passed using something like this.

SkyWall drone defense system can drop a quadcopter from 100 meters

Eventually they will find something agreeable that will be legal to use. too many idiots and too much media. It's coming.

 

[tcope]

Since the FAA says there is no difference between RC aircraft & full scale aircraft how can police be allowed to shoot them down? Doesn't that mean they could also shoot down that pesky Cessna too?

What you say is out of context. The ruling was that drones are considered aircraft when it comes to the FAA's jurisdiction. The drone is still an unmanned aircraft.

 

[tcope]

It will never pass and even if it does it will be a pointless feel good law. The police can't just start destroying peoples property unless it's in the best interest of the public, and causing a heavy object with fast rotating props to fall from the sky is pretty much the exact opposite of that..And at the same time I'm sure the police would shoot down a drone in a situation where they fear it is going to be used as a weapon or involved in some sort of crime whether they have that law to "allow" it or not..

When this law would be used is, for example, when a drone is seen flying over a wild fire. They would shoot it with a shot gun or even less then deadly projectiles, such as bean bags.

 

[Skywalker]

I think the new P4 has a zigzag mode...

 

[Skywalker]

When this law would be used is, for example, when a drone is seen flying over a wild fire. They would shoot it with a shot gun or even less then deadly projectiles, such as bean bags.

I'm guessing that fighting the fire would take priority over worrying about a drone. Especially when it might be in use determining the size of the fire.

 

[tcope]

I'm guessing that fighting the fire would take priority over worrying about a drone. Especially when it might be in use determining the size of the fire.

The problem is that water dropping planes cannot fly over or even near the wildfire if there is a drone in the area. So the effort to put out the fire comes to a standstill until the drone is known to have left the area.

 

[LuvMyTJ]

What you say is out of context. The ruling was that drones are considered aircraft when it comes to the FAA's jurisdiction. The drone is still an unmanned aircraft.

And your point is? Pretty sure there is an FAA rule against shooting at any aircraft.

Oh tcope...

 

[JKDSensei]

Anyone remember the days back when this used to be a hobby.....

and not the wild wild West? <sigh>

Will this all blow over someday? We can only hope

 

[JKDSensei]

The problem is that water dropping planes cannot fly over or even near the wildfire if there is a drone in the area. So the effort to put out the fire comes to a standstill until the drone is known to have left the area.

Scenario.....

Terrorists set fires to intentionally destroy homes / ranches / buildings.......

Then...deliberately fly drones in the area to prevent responders from doing their jobs. After all, they now know all aerial suppression efforts are called off if a drone has been reported.
Shooting them down might help....but terrorists have deep pockets, they might have 20 or 30 bought or stolen drones ready to go.
By the time the authorities finish their war on the drones...50 million in homes and ranch gone up in smoke.

This has other implications. Terrorists are smart, they're taking note of the reactions of emergency responders and authorities
and are figuring ways to use that against us. Maybe they don't even need a drone. Just use one of those untraceable, disposable phones to report drones in the area. I'm sure that call will send authorities into overdrive. The media may be setting a FAR more dangerous trap for us all by making this too big a deal.

Is a less than 4 lb drone any more of a danger than an Eagle or turkey buzzard fleeing a burning area? Over-reaction?

Could be wrong......just a thought. YMMV