Hillview man arrested for shooting down drone; cites right to pr - WDRB 41 Louisville News

I think the authorities acted a little (ok, a lot) over zealously, but they really have no current legal guidance.
If it turns out we have no expectation of aerial privacy, our homes and the land they sit on are going to look very different in the future.
These things must easy to damage as I have seen several of these stories and not every shooter was a skeet or trap champion.

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NEMO
"Everything 44"

Seems like the video on the drone should have been confiscated as potential evidence in a crime

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Some collect art; I shoot it!

Interesting. They could have been watching the children, (there are all kinds of videos on youtube of drones videoing girls in bikinis) casing a neighbors property, looking through windows, (ala peeping toms) and after the drone flies over his property, the dude shoots it down.

While reading the comments, all the drone owners want him prosecuted for it. But none of then commented on the actions of the operators, justifying it by claiming they "were just taking photo's" at someone else's request.

My view; If I come out and your drone is hovering over my granddaughter, you'll need a new one.

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James L. "Jim" Rhiner

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.

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Ret LE Firearms inst & armorer

I believe, from the story, it was the action of the drone. So if a trespasser is leering at my granddaughter, or peering in my windows, or recording the contents of my carport with a video camera, hello to Mr. Rock Salt.

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James L. "Jim" Rhiner

Can you make a citizen's arrest on a drone?

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NEMO
"Everything 44"

Gentle men, I live in Kentucky, if you value your drone, don't send it to my back yard or window. I love bird hunting so a drone would present no problem for my .12 GA..I really would like to try my. 17hmr at a moving target. Recond the wind from one would have much affect on the little. 17 gr bullet. These are some questions i 've been pondering over in my mind.

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.

Amen, brother!

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Stay protected my friends.

My view; If I come out and your drone is hovering over my property, you'll need a new one.

Yessireebob!

Too bad it's illegal to discharge a firearm in this county. But I'm pretty good with a slingshot.

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Life Is A Gift. Defend it!

It don't take much to take a drone out of action. I bet one good shot from my Gamo adult air rifle drops the sucker. Don

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USN Retired/VN VET
M&P X5

But your Honor, there is a kid who fixed a drone to shoot a handgun that went virile on the internet. I thought it was a threat.

It went virile? And on the Internet? The drone somehow developed masculine traits and a strong sex drive?

What county in Washington prohibits discharging firearms? There is legal hunting in every county. IIRC you are in King County. Not counting rush hour(s) very few King County residents live more than a 45 minute drive away from one or more outdoor gun ranges. The large timber companies demanding you purchase one of their use permits before driving onto their property put a damper on a lot of the traditional plinking but there are still the national forests. I'm not sure if Warehouser has changed their policies but they used to be O.K. with plinking and might still be if you bought their use permit.

It is illegal to discharge a firearm anywhere in King County unless at a range. Many of the state and federal shooting areas are being closed down because people act like buttheads.

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Life Is A Gift. Defend it!

I bet you could duck tape a green laser on this and take out a drone at a hundred yards!


Assault with a deadly potato?

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Life Is A Gift. Defend it!

Two words......

Potato Cannon

I was expressing this very same sentiment to my wife just the other night when we were discussing what I would do.
I have, and am very good with, an old wrist rocket. I have several doz. steel ball bearings that should take down one of those Aerial peeping toms with no problems. I also have several nice hardwood baseball bats for when the prep's come looking for their toy.

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I reckon so

What about using a bolo?? Wrapped around the rotors would bring it down.

Why in the Hell are you living in a county that prohibits the discharging of a firearm?

Why in the Hell are you living in a county that prohibits the discharging of a firearm anyway?

Your drone comes to my window, it dies. You come to complain? Not a smart move.

Anything that comes looking in my window won't be there long. Peep on me 00 will fly. I purchased a case of 00 before the cost went crazy. Good for blowing holes for ice fishing kidding Lmao.

My hunting camp is so bad my neighbor won't come there at night. Don't send a drone. Just knock on the door in the daytime be civil.

A lot of communities have laws against the discharge of firearms within city limits. However, is a Paintball gun a Firearm and would one have enough power to bring down a low flying drone? Fact is these things are becoming a serious problem in regards to violating Flight Paths and I would consider them a potentially serious invasion of my privacy if one were hovering overhead.

I am thinking even a good hose job might bring one down if it got close enough.
I use a hose professionally (work at a pool and clean it when closing) and am pretty good with it.
The law is barely catching up with the internet (and not doing a great job so far).
It will be interesting to see how this develops vis a vis the constitution and local interpretations thereof.

Since shooting at a drone is considered the same as shooting at an airplane by the FAA (and thus a federal crime),
does it not follow that operating one without a license should carry a susbstantial penalty as well?
Airplanes normally have to operate within strict guidelines of all sorts.
I don't understand why drones do not currently.

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NEMO
"Everything 44"

Did you watch the OP's linked video? Guidelines are clearly referenced.

I am the OP and did not watch the video as it doesn't play on my browser.
I probably did not allow the right script.
I only allow what is needed to read a story.
If it requires 15 more Javascripts and sites to show something I don't bother.
Allowing all scripts and sites is a good way to pick up malware.
Sorry if I posted without all the facts presented.

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NEMO
"Everything 44"

Yes a paintball marker AKA gun would bring one down I have had some nasty bruises on my body to testify to that. Also have broken several of the wifes's flower pots with mine. Just put the red dot on the sucker and send a string of balls at it. I have full auto fire. Yes at least here they are not firearms and can be shot in city limits.

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USN Retired/VN VET
M&P X5

Discharging a firearm in the air , in city limits . NOT a good idea.
Hope he gets a $5 fine for it ...

Blasting a drone , hovering over your backyard.
Funny as Heck ,, hope he gets a medal for it ,,,

Can I please got a BIG amen here!!

Hmm, time to get into the barrage balloon business perhaps...

Don't say that, they'll just outlaw anything that shoots.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

This guy displayed sound and reasonable judgment. I hope his neighbors back him up in their statements and that he is ultimately vindicated.

It's easy to bring down a drone. Damage a propeller even a little and they become unbalanced and can't fly. One pellet from a shotgun cloud will do it.

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Freedom isn't free.

reckless endangerment - heck he hit what he was shooting at!

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Old Guys Rule!

Folks in Deer Trail Colorado had a referendum to allow drone hunting and even sold drone hunting licenses for a while. They voted down the measure, but it sure made the news for a while. They were looked upon as the ultimate rednecks by the media but I kind of admired their sentiments.
Anytime you discharge a weapon inside the city limits around here you risk charges and potential loss of your rights in the future. What about collateral damages and knowing what is beyond your intended target?
I would prefer to keep my firearms from being confiscated and not have my carry permit revoked. I would save my ammunition for more serious threats.

I don't know why he resorted to his shotgun, by his own admission he had his 40mm Glock openly carried when approached by the owners of the trespassing drone. With that kind of firepower he could take out a B17, much less a drone.

bob

And this happened in Bullitt County!

I'll just use one of my ex-wife's flying monkeys to attack any drones in my neighborhood!

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"Life is short, hunt hard"

Ohhh... I see what you did there.

I would think that a Bolo made with about 5' of 100# test fishing line and a couple of 2 oz sinkers would do a nice job of snagging drones. It maybe an aircraft, but aircraft have a min. elevation over private property. Somebody starts flying one low over my place and it is gonna end up a wreck. I bet the local Sheriff would laugh at the owner for crying about what happened to his drone over my property. I can fling anything I want into the air on my property, if he flys into it that's his problem. Another approach would be monofilament gill net. Commercial fishermen throw lots of it away after its a couple years old. People want to play with their toys fine. But, not on my place they won't for long.

The question isn't really if we have a reasonable expectation of aerial privacy, but do we have that right? We may have it under the 4th Amendment, but that might only apply to law enforcement searching for signs of criminal activity. All this is still a gray area.

My thinking is that we do have that right, but to what degree? Here's a personal "for instance". I can key in my home address right now, go to Google Maps, then click on "satellite view", and see my house. I can do a maximum zoom and distinctly see one of my vehicles sitting out back, and next to that vehicle is a black shape. I have two big black dogs. That black shape can be nothing else but one of my dogs. The dogs are the only black shapes in my back yard. I can scroll over to my neighbor's house and see one of them out in their back yard, though I can't tell if it's him or her. And that view is just with Google Light. No telling how much detail I could see if I used the paid version.

I can click on my cousin's house in Conway, SC, then go to "street view" and see her husband sitting outside in a lawn chair.

So where does privacy begin and end?

What are you gonna do? Shoot the Google Car as it drives past, photographing your property. Probably not a great idea.

Personally, I think this Kentucky guy acts and sounds like a jerk having a knee jerk reaction to a fairly mundane event. Thinks he's being "spied on" or something. And he's dumb enough to fire off a shotgun into the air in a neighborhood. And where's the proof the drone was spying on him or his family or his daughter or his dog or cat or whatever?

I wonder what's next on his hit list? Maybe the camera down at the corner convenience store, or the cameras in the bank. Or maybe that one up on the traffic light.

I hope he has to pay for the drone, the camera, and gets a fine on top of that.

In case y'all think I'm kiddin' about the Google Map/Satellite View thing...a screenshot is attached.

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Yep Google Maps are great but not real time. I can see my swimming pool in the back yard and my F350 in the front. Thing is the pool hasn't had water in it for about a year it does in the pic and I sold my truck 6 months ago. Someone is going to be real disappointed if they show up for a swim and plan on leaving in the F350. Don

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USN Retired/VN VET
M&P X5

Sure, a Google satellite image isn't real time. My point is (was) that if someone wants to "spy" on you, there's very little can be done about it. Don't think there aren't satellites or other forms of aerial surveillance that can't watch you in real time. A drone, for instance, hovering over your home at...oh, say 1500 feet or 2000 feet that can watch you when you're outside, and can see infrared images of you inside.

That's no doomsday paranoia on my part, either...just the facts.

I didn't know we were talking about 1500 to 2000 feet!! You are talking about a quarter of a mile. The article I read said the drone was looking under the neighbors back deck covering! That is wrong on any level you wish to push it! The drone becomes a target!

You sound like a person who may own a drone..................

Your turn..................

And you sound like a person who makes baseless assumptions about people you don't even know and people you know absolutely nothing about.

A Google Earth picture is a straight down view. They don't look in windows. Even with 'street view'.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

Why are you telling me this? I'm aware that a Google Earth image is looking straight down, even though you can 3D it and get a bit of an angle on the view. But straight down, yes. That's why it's called "satellite view".

I know that, too. I'm also aware that the street view is done with vehicles, not drones.

Can you point out to me the part in my post that you quoted where I talk about looking in windows with Google Earth? No, I didn't think so.

My point is that our privacy may have been private at one time in the pre-satellite days. But it isn't now, and it never will be again, whether someone can use a device to peep in your window or not. You're being watched just about everywhere you go. A little drone is the least of your worries.

Shooting at a drone because one might fly over or pass close to your property? Because you think you're being spied on or something? What a total waste of time, energy, and ammunition.

bet my gas powered will bring one down.pellet gun