Quote:
Originally Posted by Fastbolt
I thought I read where LAPD might've lost this one? Dunno, as I don't own a drone and don't keep up on this new area of the law.
LAPD Seeks to Ban Drones Over Police Stations | Officer.com
As far as the gentleman in KY ...
He mentioned "To me, it was the same as trespassing.". Okay, let's ask a couple simple questions. Does KY allow someone to shoot trespassers who aren't offering the threat of imminent serious bodily injury or death? Would he have been charged with the "first degree wanton endangerment" section reported if he'd discharged his shotgun into the air (in that area with neighbors very close) for a trespasser?
The damage to the personal property of the owner(s) is another matter, perhaps, and one which I known nothing about regarding KY's law. However, say the drone - or someone else's remotely controlled model airplane - were to have made a landing in the gentleman's backyard. Would he have felt entitled to have intentionally damaged it because it was on his property?
I won't presume to speculate about this incident, other than to offer that over the course of my career in LE, I've seen no particular shortage of otherwise normal folks sometimes make some rash decisions, or think they had the "right" to do something, and that thinking got them into trouble that could've easily been avoided. |
Just wondering. These are remote control aircraft, some of which are large enough that their mass and spinning propellors pose a hazard to those on the ground if struck.
My BIL is a big radio control model airplane fan, and he and his colleagues cannot legally operate them outside the boundaries of their flying field. I would think the same restrictions should apply to amateur drone operators. A drone is just another RC aircraft.
OTOH, I doubt one has a right to discharge a firearm or destroy the RC plane, especially in an urban or suburban area, but the victim could for sure complain to the local police for trespassing, or violating whatever the operating restrictions are for the craft, as well as file a civil suit for damages if there were any.
Somewhere in between shooting the drone down and doing nothing about your property and privacy being invaded is the boundary that defines where "the quiet enjoyment of my property" lies and the remedies for stopping or punishing a violation of that. The little I've read has suggested the drone boom has outpaced the law on this.