Slashdot Mirror
Texas Sheriffs Crash $250k Drone They're Not Supposed To Be Flying
SpaceGhost writes: "The Houston Chronicle reveals that Friday morning a $250,000 drone was lost by the Sheriff's department in Lake Conroe (just north of Houston.) Divers have been searching for the drone. What's more, the drone is reportedly over the FAA's 25-pound weight limit, so they shouldn't have been flying it in the first place (the Chronicle says 49 pounds, the Montgomery County Police Reporter says 29 pounds — either way, it's too heavy). The MCPR article goes on to discuss the recently passed Texas Legislature House Bill 912 which restricts the use of drones to observe private property, likely influenced by the January 2012 discovery of illegal pig blood runoff and subsequent indictment."
and justify it with liberal interpretation of probable cause later.
Then a fearful and ignorant populace allow them to keep doing it.
The eyes of the ranger are upon you, and they're quite heavy.
True in Roman times.
True in Victorian times.
True today.
Note to America: That which removes your freedoms out of fear makes you Weaker, not Stronger.
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
And you will find this drone...
While privacy is preferred, if there is to be a panopticon, it must be one everyone can look through, not just government i.e. people in power.
"With warrant" is not enough -- not when all it takes is one corrupt lackey to abuse it on the orders of a politician.
A drone is just one of many aspects to this new tool of dictatorship...especially when only government can use it.
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
the Chronicle says 49 pounds, the Montgomery County Police Reporter says 29 pounds — either way, it's too heavy
Shouldn't they deserve a special exception from the FAA's weight limit? After all, everything's bigger in Texas.
"Hold my beer and watch this!"
Most of the noise about drones and "privacy" is astroturf campaigns funded by industrial polluters who don't want to get caught.
Don't you know that laws don't apply to government officials?
Don't waste your vote! Vote for whoever you want, unless you live in a swing state it won't matter anyways
Activists SHOULD set the evil bit to zero (0) while hunting violators of pollution regulations and other worthy causes. The cops MUST set the evil bit to one (1) while abusing power. At other times the cops MAY set the evil bit to zero (0), especially when gathering evidence on rich people, gun owners, for-profit corporations and non-compliant ranchers.
Maw! Fire up the karma burner!
Because the search radius not thousands of miles?
Were they texting while flying?
Get free satoshi (Bitcoin) and Dogecoins
Sounds like a fishing story to me.
Have gnu, will travel.
A COA can be approval for anything. There is no inherent limitation on weight. The FAAs website is chalk full of PR half truths. Source: I've received a COA for a >25 lb aircraft.
The FAA will not do anything to punish illegal drone flights by law enforce^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H domestic anti-terror officers.
It's easy to get a waiver for the weight limit. Lots of giant-scale r/c'ers with planes twice that.
...they can regulate how police organizations are permitted to use existing technology and equipment. Ridiculous example - a police department in Texas may be able to get their hands on an M-1 tank, doesn't mean they can use it. Of course, they'll actually get to use it once, but after that...
So that's the junk that ended up in my backyard!?!
If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker would destroy civilization.
Once the technology becomes ubiquitous, watch for private drones armed with small air-to-air rockets being used to take out police drones.
Looks more like an army than a police department.
Of texan hick cops who obvious have contempt for the very law they profess to enforce, as they dont follow the rules themselves, with their new toys.
Isn't this the same department that crashed a drone into their own armored vehicle full of SWAT personnel during a photo op? This seems a lot less like mechanical difficulties and more like inexperienced/inept officers who are blaming everything on their new, expensive, unnecessary toys.
http://gizmodo.com/5890507/pol...
And so goes what everyone knew what would happen when you gave drones to cops.
Similar toys but military personnel usually get real consequences instead of paid vacation when they fsck up.
Even when they wear blue. Probably having too much fun.
I guess they haven't lost some habits.