Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

North Dakota Legalizes "Less Than Lethal" Weapon-Equipped Police Drones

Posted by timothy on from the brought-to-you-from-nellis-air-force-base dept.

According to the Daily Beast, writes reader schwit1, North Dakota police will be free to fire 'less than lethal' weapons from the air thanks to the influence of a pro-police lobbyist. That means beanbags, tear-gas, and Tasers, at the very least, can be brought to bear by remote. It's worth noting that "non-lethal" isn't purely true, even if that's the intent behind such technologies. From the article, based partly on FOIA requests made by MuckRock into drone use by government agencies: The bill’s stated intent was to require police to obtain a search warrant from a judge in order to use a drone to search for criminal evidence. In fact, the original draft of Representative Rick Becker’s bill would have banned all weapons on police drones. Then Bruce Burkett of the North Dakota Peace Officer’s Association was allowed by the state house committee to amend HB 1328 and limit the prohibition only to lethal weapons. “Less than lethal” weapons like rubber bullets, pepper spray, tear gas, sound cannons, and Tasers are therefore permitted on police drones.

6 of 180 comments (clear)

  1. Begun by DumbSwede · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The Drone Wars Have

    --
    Letter To Iran
  2. And so it begins by captnjohnny1618 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I can't fathom how they think this makes sense, or that there won't be pushback. Welcome to the police state.

    Can I shoot at your "non-lethal" drone with my non-lethal weapons?

    1. Re:And so it begins by Dins · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I can't fathom how they think this makes sense, or that there won't be pushback.

      There should be pushback. But there won't be pushback.

    2. Re:And so it begins by TheBilgeRat · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Well, seeing as shooting a police canine can result in a hefty felony, I'm guessing shooting their drone buddy will be about the same. They'll write the law to make it as if you were shooting at the operator him/herself.

  3. Dropping or firing an object from a plane... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    FAA says no... firing an object from the air intentionally is illegal... maybe tasers could be allowed since the wire stays attached to the drone, but even then I suspect it'd need to be able to retract them... but bean bags are out.

  4. Re:So... by flink · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The problem is that these devices will further alienate the police from the communities that they are ostensibly supposed to be serving. It's already a problem that there are hardly any cops that walk a beat anymore. Instead they are in their patrol cars the whole time and only get out when something is going down. This means that cops are no longer interacting with members of a community. No one has any positive interactions with police as the only time they interact with an officer is when he is hassling or arresting someone.

    If police drones, especially armed ones, become commonplace, my fear is that it will only deepen the police/civilian divide. It will be only a matter of time before we hear about kids getting tasered for "walking while black".