A Florida woman shouted to the police: “Just kill me! Just kill me!” Instead, the police used drones to help end a 4-hour-long standoff. The 57-year-old woman had parked her Kia sedan right in front of a semi-truck at a Walmart parking lot on Dec 8.
A drone has become an essential part of the Queensland police operations new numbers show. During the last year, one or more drones were launched 52 times by the Queensland Police Service photographic section. All flights combined add up to more than 60 hours of flight time in the last year alone.
CBS New York joined the NYPD on a mission to hunt drones in New York City. With the number of drones rapidly increasing, 770,000 drones have been registered with the FAA as of earlier this year, so is the number of drone incidents. CBS2’s Maurice Dubois took to the sky with the NYPD to see how they are cracking down on rogue drones.
Over the last few weeks, we have reported on how drones are becoming part of law enforcement’s equipment around the country, and world for that matter. Police forces in Boston, Los Angeles, and Hong Kong are using or testing drone and now we learn about the San Diego’s Sherrif’s Department saying drones are here to stay.
Caught in the act! The drone captured footage of a 33-year-old man as he pointed a rifle to the drone, just before it crashed to the ground, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office said. The man from White City, OR faces accusations he shot down a $1,000 unmanned aerial vehicle Tuesday evening, reported KVAL. The shooting of the drone happened around 5:35 p.m. at the Hoover Ponds recreation area near White City.
After Police departments in Boston and Los Angeles, Hong Kong is now testing drones outfitted with thermal cameras to fight terrorism, catch bad guys and help with search and rescue operations. The Hong Kong’s elite police squads have recently begun testing with thermal drones. The drones manufactured by DJI, the world’s largest manufacturer of unmanned aircraft vehicles, that recently had its products banned by the US army, were being considered for anti-crime and antiterrorism operations, police officials told the Post. The drones would not be used for surveillance at protests and rallies.
Amidst protest, the civilian board overseeing the Los Angeles Police Department voted 3-1 in favor of the LAPD using the pilot program. On Tuesday the Los Angeles Police Department signed off on a year-long test of drones. The LAPD is the largest police department in the U.S. to do so.
According to the proposal, the drones will be specifically used by the LAPD’s Metropolitan Division SWAT Team in “dangerous, high-risk tactical situations and improve situational awareness capabilities during natural disasters and catastrophic incidents.”
In January of this year, the Boston Police Department spent almost $20.000 to purchase three police drones, which have yet to be put to official use. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Massachusetts got hold of the BPD documents detailing the acquisition of the drones after a citizen made a recent complaint after a police drone test flight in Jamaica Plain according to the Boston Globe.
