Privacy Fears loom as Police Drones Soar

Monday, January 24, 2011

The suspect’s house, just west of this city, sat on a hilltop at the end of a steep, exposed driveway. Agents with the Texas Department of Public Safety believed the man inside had a large stash of drugs and a cache of weapons, including high-caliber rifles.

As dawn broke, a SWAT team waiting to execute a search warrant wanted a last-minute aerial sweep of the property, in part to check for unseen dangers. But there was a problem: The department’s aircraft section feared that if it put up a helicopter, the suspect might try to shoot it down.

So the Texas agents did what no state or local law enforcement agency had done before in a high-risk operation: They launched a drone. A bird-size device called a Wasp floated hundreds of feet into the sky and instantly beamed live video to agents on the ground. The SWAT team stormed the house and arrested the suspect.

“The nice thing is it’s covert,” said Bill C. Nabors Jr., chief pilot with the Texas DPS, who in a recent interview described the 2009 operation for the first time publicly. “You don’t hear it, and unless you know what you’re looking for, you can’t see it.”

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Marshall

This is a Tool that needs rules of use as
we all know,can be valuable if not abused!
oldgringo

And who pays for the use of all this high tech gadgetry…..Naturally the US taxpayer……We are paying those at all levels of law enforcement who are hell bent on destroying our freedoms…..They used US Army Tanks at Waco too didn’t they……Home made Bunkers holding women and children were fire bombed and destroyed with no thought who might be contained in them…..End result all died…..With a large number of those in hiding being children…..We seen the videos…..No 50 caliber machine guns or illegal weapons were found…..This was the excuse given by the BTAF to raid the compound…….More Government lies condoned by Janet Reno and the BTAF…..It was Government sanctioned Murder of US citizens along with their children carried out by an over zealous BTAF Division of our Government…… Naw the killing of innocent civilians, men, women and children could not be condoned ever again by our govenment…..
Could it? Mark my word, be prepared, it will happen again!
Mindy

I believe the use of the drones in America against American citizens is a complete invasion of privacy, as well as the abrogation of several of our rights. If this is allowed to continue unrestrained, there will be major abuses of the technology, there always are. I believe that it will eventually be used to slaughter our own people, the only question that remains is what criteria will be used to justify the murder of American citizens? Will it be along religious, political or racial lines?

Robert

Mindy,
That IS your belief, but it is NOT against the law. Just look around you in one single day and see how many video scans you come in contact with, be it from privately owned business’ to traffic control/speed cameras. This is the 21st century and it is here under the quise of keeping us safe from the terrorists, drug lords etc, but NOT ILLEGAL.
I don’t necessarily like it, but I can’t avoid it.

Bill W

The militarization of our law enforcement and the repeated abridgements of personal privacy in the “War on Drugs” is horrible! Prohibition and attempts to legislate morality have repeated failed throughout history. Let’s declare “peace with honor”, legalize and tax most of them, put the gangs and violent drug lords out of business and stop the law enforcement war against our own citizens.
John Loser

You can already legally purchase “drones” at your Hobby shop. They are battery powered model aircraft. They will carry a wireless tv camera and you can watch it on the matching monitor. Checkout your local RC club.
Am2sweet

I saw a video about these drones. They looked almost like the Stelth but not quite. But what was bad was that they could zero in on anything and even destroy it. At least I believe it’s the same plane. It’s not manned and controlled by people in a room elsewhere. At that rate they could locate any of us, spy on us and then destroy us. Amazing to think out own government would want to do that. Time for a big change all right.
No Powder

Give me a break you Bozos. Here your whining about government takeover, Socialist take over, loss of privacy from “Big Brother”, The militarization of our law enforcement and the repeated abridgements of personal privacy in the “War on Drugs” is horrible, and my personal favorite: If this is allowed to continue unrestrained, there will be major abuses of the technology, there always are. I believe that it will eventually be used to slaughter our own people. Now, read an article about some rancher being slaughtered by some low life drug runners and the comments read just the opposite. When is the government going to do something about this? Why doesn’t the government put up cameras? And I have even read people wondering why we don’t use drones to catch these guys? Make up your damned minds will ya? We need to use every resource we have to secure the borders and catch the bad guys. If you’re not doing anything wrong, what the hell are you worried about? I say use everything in our arsenal to find these bottom feeders and when they are caught red handed, put a bullet in their heads. I’ll pay for the damned bullet. It’s a hell of a lot cheaper than giving them three squares and a cot, free medical, and free everything else on our dime. Stop this BS about Oh, Oh, they’re spying on me. Whatever shall I do? Like I said, give it a break and let law enforcement do their job.
IQ142

I’ve read here that the Fed’s did it, that Texas police did it. Ever hear of the Texas Rangers? That is the common name given to the law enforcement arm of The Texas Department Of Safety. I say if they are using wasps, More Power To ThEm.
http://none Sagebrush Sal

“No Powder” is absolutely right! For Pete’s sake, didn’t you people whining about your ‘privacy’ read what this creep had in his house? Would you want him next door to you and your family??

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