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What Is Your Opinion Of This Police Action Against Drone Flight?

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These animal rights activists used a drone to obtain an aerial view of a "farm" in New York State where puppies and other animals are bred for laboratory research purposes. The private security staff at the "farm" called upon the state and local police to accost and "investigate" the drone operators -- who broke no laws.

What is your opinion?
 
Personally I hate when Police waste someones time but I don't do their job and don't know the threats they face. To me, this was being unnecessarily escalated to make a point. If it was me? I have things to do so I would have just given him my ID (regardless of what the law requires), respected his opinion and moved on. I wouldn't want to escalate things to make a point regardless of who is right. I know how the video was being portrayed but this is a post 911 world. In my opinion all bets are off and so is due process if they consider you a terrorist threat (thanks to the Patriot Act in the United States). Besides, if its a (my opinion or theirs) situation, they will win. In the case of this video and in my opinion, this guy just wasted a half day or more he could have used for something productive just to make this video. Had he just given his ID and moved on this video would have been 10 minutes and no one would have seen it, right?

As an operator I'm highly aware that others are uncomfortable with the perception of being watched and I respect that. I'm not out to make people uncomfortable and I respect their privacy. People are also fearful that someone with a drone may be using it for a criminal activity. I'm not that guy. I would like to put others at ease so they leave me alone and let me have my fun. All we need are more unnecessary laws written to restrict us.

Greg
 
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In my opinion; FYI -not a lawyer.
Below is my opinion only.

If the officers broke the law then talk to the DA. If that doesn't produce results then file civil lawsuits on each of the officials that broke the law. Maybe harassment suit or charges for Marshall? They obviously know who you are due to the frequent visits. (Or at least they know now).
Obstructing justice is illegal regardless of your job title. Public servants should be held to a higher standard. Lying or not knowing the law is obstructing justice. If they did not know the law, then they should've found out what law states BEFORE arresting anyone.
Maybe call in a suspicious vehicle every time a vehicle pulls out of "Marshall Farms " dish them some of their own medicine.
Show how ridiculous those calls can be.
And by the way maybe use other means of rectifications to deal with people and businesses that you may not like or agree with. I do not personall agree with raising animals for experiments. But I would sacrifice my pet to save my mother or other loved ones. Maybe push for legislation that would only use animals from facilities that are scheduled for demise already. Many animals from human societies do not get adopted and are put down.
I'm not currently being harassed, but if someone was buzzing my home, the drone would not be repairable nor recoverable as my property is posted no trespassing. If someone's buzzing my home and their drone "crashes" they will not get it back.
There are many things wrong with this country but there are also avenues of solutions without compromising others freedoms or your own.
Run for office
Everyone should serve a term. It will change your view of government. Good people must stand strong and not be afraid to lead.
Freedom is not free. We all have the God given right to Justice. Please use your resources to make our world a better place for our children.
Respectfully submitted, and good luck.
 
A lot going on here, my thoughts are and I also agree with @gwhuntoon

1 Would the people that were doing the filming mind if someone with a drone would fly over there property to see what they are up to. yes or no? simple question I don't think they would like it much , my opinion

2 We all know this is a new and sensitive area for flying drones in and around private property

3 I do fell the people stopped wasted a lot of the cops time by not just giving them the info requested , by doing what was asked I am sure it would of not been an issue and they would of been on their way, and of course if they would of done that , then of course no new video to post

4 Police do not know who they are stopping and dealing with on most stops, there could of been warrants out for someone, not saying there would of been but we all know there are bad folks out there doing bad things with drones

5 I understand the film crew was wanting to capture info on the farm to see if any abuse was being done, if any animals are being abused it should be brought to attention.

6 As mentioned in the above post it was escalated to make a point by the film crew.

7 The guy with the camera said he has friends that are cops, I bet if he was to ask them about the stop.. asking if his cop friends were to get the exact same call about someone doing the exact same thing and they dealt with the exact same kind of individuals I would tend to think as trained law enforcement officers they would most likely of done the same thing.
 
Being a retired police commander, my take on this is the dispatcher receiving the phone call should have checked with their supervisor if necessary to confirm that a crime was committed prior to dispatching an officer. If an officer was dispatched to investigate suspicious circumstances, he should have inquired from his supervisor if a crime was committed based upon the known facts of flying a drone over private property. If no crime was committed, the officer should have made contact with the complaining party and advised them that no crime was committed and they would not take any action. The police have a responsibility to enforce the law, not harass people. When the police come across a situation where they don't know the law, they need to confirm if there is a law prohibiting this act before taking action. This vehicle should not have been stopped in the first place, but cops are curious and want to know everything that's going on, and when you refuse to cooperate with a cop even if he's wrong, he gets pissed and won't stop until he gets what he wants. The field supervisor should have been paying attention to this call and should have immediately gone to the officers location to get the facts and defuse the situation. This officer did not handle this properly and neither did his supervisor. On the other hand, if the guy had told the officer who he was and that he was legally filming the mistreatment of animals on this farm the officer should have wished him well and let him go. Unfortunately we recently had a federal judge that has ruled that a cop can stop anyone for no reason and demand id. This is complete ********. Hopefully the US Supreme Court will review this matter and reverse this lower court decision.
 
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Being a retired police commander, my take on this is the dispatcher receiving the phone call should have checked with their supervisor if necessary to confirm that a crime was committed prior to dispatching an officer. If an officer was dispatched to investigate suspicious circumstances, he should have inquired from his supervisor if a crime was committed based upon the known facts of flying a drone over private property. If no crime was committed, the officer should have made contact with the complaining party and advised them that no crime was committed and they would not take any action. The police have a responsibility to enforce the law, not harass people. When the police come across a situation where they don't know the law, they need to confirm if there is a law prohibiting this act before taking action. This vehicle should not have been stopped in the first place, but cops are curious and want to know everything that's going on, and when you refuse to cooperate with a cop even if he's wrong, he gets pissed and won't stop until he gets what he wants. The field supervisor should have been paying attention to this call and should have immediately gone to the officers location to get the facts and defuse the situation. This officer did not handle this properly and neither did his supervisor. On the other hand, if the guy had told the officer who he was and that he was legally filming the mistreatment of animals on this farm the officer should have wished him well and let him go. Unfortunately we recently had a federal judge that has ruled that a cop can stop anyone for no reason and demand id. This is complete ********. Hopefully the US Supreme Court will review this matter and reverse this lower court decision.
Thank you. I fully agree with everything you've said here.
 
A lot going on here, my thoughts are and I also agree with @gwhuntoon

Would the people that were doing the filming mind if someone with a drone would fly over there property to see what they are up to. yes or no? simple question I don't think they would like it much, my opinion
Whether they like it or not is not the issue. The issue is whether the drone is flying at a lawfully allowable height or not. If it is, they have no complaint.

I do feel the people stopped wasted a lot of the cops time by not just giving them the info requested, by doing what was asked I am sure it would of not been an issue and they would of been on their way, and of course if they would of done that , then of course no new video to post.
Those SHARK people didn't waste the cops' time. The cops wasted their own time in a demonstratedly stupid manner. There were five police cars and eight cops attending that ridiculously unnecessary effort to (improperly) assert authority.

The first thing to understand is the SHARK crew did nothing illegal. They conducted an aspect of an investigation in a perfectly lawful manner. The private security staff called upon the state police to accost and investigate a group of citizens who had broken no laws. This is comparable to my calling the local police to accost and investigate you because you flew a drone over my house. (How many houses have you flown your drone(s) over last year?)

Police do not know who they are stopping and dealing with on most stops, there could of been warrants out for someone, not saying there would of been but we all know there are bad folks out there doing bad things with drones
Do you understand the purpose of the Fourth Amendment to our Constitution? Do you believe police should have authority to accost, detain and interfere with anyone they choose to -- for no reason other than they choose to? Or do you believe there should be some valid, justifiable cause for stopping and questioning people?

In contemplating your answer to the above, keep in mind that while most cops are decent, well-meaning individuals, there are some really bad, even dangerous, people who find their way into that job. They are the reason why it is critically important to apply constraints on police conduct and authority, constraints which unfortunately affect the good guys as well as the bad.

Allowing police to exercise laissez faire conduct and authority would quickly transform America into something resembling East Germany during the era of USSR dominance. The SHARK people are aware of and sensitive to this, which is why they chose to challenge the right of the state and local police to "investigate" them at the behest of private security agents.
 

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