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Small town LEOs

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R.Perry

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My grandson was doing a roof inspection when the local cop[ arrived. He was told it was illegal to fly drones in his town and he could impound the drone. My grandson just got his 107 about a month ago, so he was legal in that sense.
I had done work in that town several times and never a problem so I called the mayors office and asked about restrictions on flying drones, I was told they had no restrictions other than invasion of privacy issues.

This really irritated me, you give some young guy a tin star and ten cents of authority and he goes nuts with it. I called the sheriff department and told them I wanted to talk to internal affairs and file a complaint against this guy. Haven't heard back from them yet.

So, bottom line is don't believe what these cops tell you, check it out and file complaints with their departments, and the FAA.
 
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Small town cops are noted for pulling that kind of crap. Henceforth the moniker "Town Clown".
 
I live (and work) in a small town and many moons ago I started working with LE in order to educate them in sUAS operations long before there was a "need". All it takes is for one person in authority to say, "We shouldn't have drones in this town" and as the word spreads it becomes "law" at least in some eyes. It's a lot easier to get ahead of the horse in the beginning so that LE and local govt leaders understand what's fact and what's not. I became the local sUAS authority and have been contracted as a "Subject Matter Expert" on several instances over the last few years (all billable hours BTW).

Also in summer of 2016 our County Board of Commisioners had a problem with one individual flying his sUAS over the Courthouse and literally trying to fly and "peek" in the windows of Gvt Employees. He was trying to use scare tactics etc and the BOC decided they would pass stricter land-use restrictions to deny Drone Flights. I contacted and met with the BOC and after several hours of back and forth we came up with some fair and legal land use restrictions that met their needs while did NOT shut down a legitimate sUAS company from flying in the county. Had I NOT gotten involved it's likely I would have lost a lot of work over the last couple of years.

As opposed to being the guy on the outside yelling "FOUL" we should take it upon ourselves to work with LE so we have a better relationship going forward. Who knows, you might find yourself some new clients going forward... I know it's worked out splendidly for our company.
 
The FAA has published a white paper for Law Enforcement education. It is on their site.
 
My grandson was doing a roof inspection when the local cop[ arrived. He was told it was illegal to fly drones in his town and he could impound the drone. My grandson just got his 107 about a month ago, so he was legal in that sense.
I had done work in that town several times and never a problem so I called the mayors office and asked about restrictions on flying drones, I was told they had no restrictions other than invasion of privacy issues.

This really irritated me, you give some young guy a tin star and ten cents of authority and he goes nuts with it. I called the sheriff department and told them I wanted to talk to internal affairs and file a complaint against this guy. Haven't heard back from them yet.

So, bottom line is don't believe what these cops tell you, check it out and file complaints with their departments, and the FAA.

Cops are humans like you and I. Some are professionals, some are not. Most don't know much about drones and hate these calls. They want to chase criminals. I've worked with a few who couldn't find their behind with a flashlight and a GPS. As a retired cop and currently criminal justice professor, I give my students the same advice when interacting with law enforcement: Be nice (I'm sure your grandson was) and don't argue nor aggravate the cop (you'll never win, and may just leave in handcuffs) ). Remember the cop's name, after the contact is over write everything down (while it's fresh) then go to the department and file a complaint.
 
In addition to what Luis said above, he could courteously ask them which specific ordinance they are basing there comment on as he had checked the local ordinance before operating and couldn't find anything. (of course he checked !)

A. Since he is asking for guidance because he wants to work within the rules, that gives them a chance for an honorable retreat if they want it.

and

B. It gives them a chance to present the ordinance in case it really does exist it was missed.

Provides for a chance of a good outcome all around.
 
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Cops are humans like you and I. Some are professionals, some are not. Most don't know much about drones and hate these calls. They want to chase criminals. I've worked with a few who couldn't find their behind with a flashlight and a GPS. As a retired cop and currently criminal justice professor, I give my students the same advice when interacting with law enforcement: Be nice (I'm sure your grandson was) and don't argue nor aggravate the cop (you'll never win, and may just leave in handcuffs) ). Remember the cop's name, after the contact is over write everything down (while it's fresh) then go to the department and file a complaint.

I in no way want to disrespect authority, but I have a serious issue with abuse of power. My grandson is ex military, two tours in Iraq, he is laid back and doesn't get rattle easily, he wasn't even up set at the cop, I was. Sure cops are human and like any profession you have good and bad, the problem is nobody wants to talk about the good, just the bad, and that is what poisons peoples opinions. The problem is when you give someone the authority a cop has, you should make sure you have someone that has their head screwed on straight.
 
My grandson was doing a roof inspection when the local cop[ arrived. He was told it was illegal to fly drones in his town and he could impound the drone. My grandson just got his 107 about a month ago, so he was legal in that sense.
I had done work in that town several times and never a problem so I called the mayors office and asked about restrictions on flying drones, I was told they had no restrictions other than invasion of privacy issues.

This really irritated me, you give some young guy a tin star and ten cents of authorityhome and he goes nuts with it. I called the sheriff department and told them I wanted to talk to internal affairs and file a complaint against this guy. Haven't heard back from them yet.

So, bottom line is don't believe what these cops tell you, check it out and file complaints with their departments, and the FAA.

I had the opposite experience in my town. The day i passed part 107, i sent the police cheif an email asking what his rules were on drones. Basically his reply was "the dept. had a meeting 6 months ago and this dept. will not take any action against the pilot if common sense is applied, near the towns airport" (it has no tower, and a grass runway).
 
Small town cops are noted for pulling that kind of crap. Henceforth the moniker "Town Clown".
It's not just small town cops, there in the city too! I have had experience with some who have given me grief and some who approached and just wanted to take a look at the screen because they saw me flying and thought it was cool.
 
Not a good statement to make. MY OPINION.

I respect your opinion, but when someone with authority that is suppose to know what they are talking about throws garbage at you, then it is obvious they didn't have the knowledge to begin with.

I know it is a bit abrasive but why do you think there is so much animosity towards authority today, it is because of abuse of authority. Watch the movie Mississippi burning, proves my point. I lived through that era.
 
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Could have stopped at ‘respect your opinion. NO buts.

Not gonna banter.........
 
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Come on. You are comparing racism and murder to a cop ignorant of drone laws? That's a bit much. sir.

No I'm not, my point is that society seems to go from one extreme to the other, there are many great cops, that put their lives on the line for people all the time, but then you have the other extreme end of the spectrum. Society has some wonderful people, then there is a small minority that create havoc on society, those end up in prison. Why does a cop shoot a black unarmed kid several times in the back, or a woman cop that shot a guy five times because he was holding a sword, but not attacking anyone, and the list goes on. We don't hear about the good things people do, we hear about the bad and that taints peoples perspectives. Cops need to put a stop to the thin blue line and police there own troops and get rid of the bad ones, but they don't and internal affairs is a joke.
 
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Cops are humans like you and I. Some are professionals, some are not. Most don't know much about drones and hate these calls. They want to chase criminals. I've worked with a few who couldn't find their behind with a flashlight and a GPS. As a retired cop and currently criminal justice professor, I give my students the same advice when interacting with law enforcement: Be nice (I'm sure your grandson was) and don't argue nor aggravate the cop (you'll never win, and may just leave in handcuffs) ). Remember the cop's name, after the contact is over write everything down (while it's fresh) then go to the department and file a complaint.

^^^^ This! Spot on Professor! ^^^^^
 
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