Testing Police Drones in Texas

By Wednesday June 16, 2010

What bothers me about this was the apparent lie delivered by the Police that the area had FAA flight restrictions when it did not.



37 Comments
  1. Rufus says:
    6/16/2010 at 2:49 pm

    I predict that gun-toting, gun-crazy Texans will shoot these drones down.

    Reply
  2. John C Dvorak says:
    6/16/2010 at 2:50 pm

    I have mixed feelings about this complaint when the information is still NEW to most readers. The litany amongst those online too much is that anything a week old — whether well distributed or not — is old and should buried.

    Reply
  3. Whats the problem says:
    6/16/2010 at 3:26 pm

    Invasion of privacy? They use cameras in the air…. its not a invasion of privacy. The law is also clear on things like thermal cameras, infrared. If its cheaper than a helicopter, then why not??

    Reply
  4. hhopper says:
    6/16/2010 at 3:41 pm

    John,

    Uncle Dave posted this last month:

    http://dvorak.org/blog/2010/05/17/predator-drone-nation/

    Reply
  5. nrdoder says:
    6/16/2010 at 3:58 pm

    Policy abroad becomes policy at home

    Be careful what you ask for

    Watch for it

    Reply
  6. Publius says:
    6/16/2010 at 4:03 pm

    @Tom Wolf,

    Hoping for transparency and good behavior in the use of these drones will be impossible and useless because they cannot be overseen by the public due to their association with ongoing military operations.

    Say goodbye to oversight. Everything is a military secret with these things.

    The police have thus become nationalized and secret.

    Reply
  7. NelsonOH says:
    6/16/2010 at 4:27 pm

    @noname (#4)

    The farce is that the average American has been duped into believing that the United States of America is a democracy. It isn’t. It’s a republic. A democracy (majority rule) is two wolves and a sheep voting on what’s for dinner. A republic is supposed to adhere to the Constitution and protect the rights of individuals.

    Reply
  8. deowll says:
    6/16/2010 at 4:54 pm

    So how many of you noticed this idea is not news? We had a post either this one or very similar from Texas some time ago.

    They will use it to do the same things choppers do only this is a heck of lot cheaper to operate.

    Reply
  9. noname says:
    6/16/2010 at 5:31 pm

    # 26 NelsonOH,

    Ok, so you believe the “republic” adheres to the Constitution and protects the rights of individuals; and that, majority vote doesn’t count.

    Your wrong on the first part (bill of rights isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on) and right on the 2nd, majority vote doesn’t indeed count.

    Reply
  10. twigster says:
    6/16/2010 at 6:11 pm

    A few questions:
    Where is your expectation to privacy on a street? Where is expectation to privacy next to an open window?

    Answer: According to the Supreme Court, you have none. Period.

    Another thought: When your loved one is missing and you want every able bodied person looking for said loved one, I’ll bet you would think this tool would’ve been handy to have.

    Theoretically, If a local government could afford it, it’s perfectly acceptable to have a police officer on every street corner. The solution is cameras on public streets, or flying cameras in the air. Honestly, I have problem with this from a constitutional standpoint.

    Reply
  11. Buzz says:
    6/16/2010 at 6:48 pm

    “…blah, blah, blah, as well as tactical,” she says. Meaning 99% tactical.

    Sam Houston is watching YOU!

    Reply
  12. Al Ammo says:
    6/16/2010 at 8:32 pm

    the surprise here is not the drone (“24″ comes true) but the tv station outing it. Democratic republic? What a quaint, 20th century concept. Look up “plutocracy.”

    Reply
  13. Somebody says:
    6/16/2010 at 10:01 pm

    “What bothers me about this was the apparent lie delivered by the Police….”

    Orly?

    Then enjoy:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Testilying

    Reply
  14. NelsonOH says:
    6/17/2010 at 2:02 am

    It dawned on me when I turned off my alarm this morning that the drone will be the “mechanical hound” of our society. While In the novel “Farenheit 451″ the enemy of the state is anyone that possesses books, in our world the enemy of the state is the terrorist.

    Reply
  15. B, Dog says:
    6/17/2010 at 7:56 am

    These drones probably are leading to a waste of resources. The promise of a magic bullet technological solution is appealing, but the limitations of the technology in rainy Houston are doubtless being overlooked. They need to develop more emphasis and appreciation of silver bullet shooting lone ranger type folks in the Houston Police Department.

    Reply
  16. gogglesnteeth says:
    6/17/2010 at 11:35 am

    Can we say this reported will be suicided?

    two to the head!

    Reply
  17. GregAllen says:
    6/17/2010 at 6:29 pm

    The idea of unmanned police aircraft doesn’t bother me too much.

    When I lived in Fresno, the police where forever chasing people with helicopters — the noise and drama of it where extremely stressful.

    One night — no kidding — a helicopter hovered outside my third floor apartment and shone its spotlight right into my window, turning my living room into blazing high noon! And the bizarre thing was, my wife I didn’t even bother to get off the couch and see what was going on.

    So, a unmanned drone doesn’t seem like such a big deal. Might even save me a few tax dollars.

    Reply

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