I was arrested for flying a drone *updated with video*

[AMann]

Everyone does realize that this "cop" is actually a "park ranger" (as signified on the patch that is sewn onto his left shoulder in the picture posted)
Who are all of these bad people that give him so much trouble on a daily basis? How does he have to deal with lots of mess?

Did he have a bad day because he had to sit in a booth and collect parking fees?
Did his patrol mountain bike have a flat tire that he had to use a patch kit on?
Perhaps he tends a park in which the squirrels throw acorns at parked cars?

Hey! I was a park ranger for Army Corps and the NPS and take offense to that! Those squirrels bite when kids feed them cheetos and they drop pine cones on people’s heads which can be quite dangerous, especially if its a coulter pine cone! Have you ever seen one of those? That guy was probably a mall cop once and now has a pound of badges and an ounce of brains. There’s no way I would have worked in the field with a guy like that. He had no idea how to handle a public contact/ enforcement situation and manage himself to keep a situation from escalating. Dangerous as all heck, and not worth dealing with at all.

 

[W2EJ]

I cannot find the video of this incident. Can someone point it out to me?

 

[AMann]

I cannot find the video of this incident. Can someone point it out to me?

Its just a audio recording on post #1

 

[W2EJ]

There's no reason for that comment... Having dealt with a cop that didn't know the law but took a few minutes to learn it before she responded to the situation, your comparison is out of line.

That's the difference right there. She didn't know the law, she knew that she didn't know it, so she took the time to find out. That's not a Nazi.

 

[Colbymh]

Those MF'ers! Totally uncalled for! The police acted as if you provoked them which in and of itself is not against the law. What is against the law is if they are actively investigating a crime and you impede them in some way. You did not as there was no crime committed and you asked a standard question (snarky or not) they are public servants. Who was served in this instance?

The fact that the prosecutor did not pursue the charges clearly means that you personally broke no laws! Go before a judge and say your sorry? Sorry for what ? Enjoying yourself without doing harm.

These encounters can get out of hand if you had been a hot-heat and resisted them in any way. They were just waiting for that so they could pin "resisting arrest" on you.

This is such an over reach of authority! I would ask for a formal apology from the officers involved and push for proper training of thier rent-a-cops uh ,ehem , cough I mean police personnel with regards to currently enacted UAV laws and regulations.

I would be flying in that park regularly after this incident. This type of handling can really leave someone with a bit of drone flying PTSD.

Some of what u say makes sense, some not even close. Just because an attorney doesn’t charge u with a crime DOES NOT mean you didn’t commit a crime. Go to any court process and u will see this all day long.

Your other comments are said as if u know exactly what they were going to do should he do certain things..

Lastly he already said there is a new law in effect there so telling him to go fly there is just stupid.

 

[Colbymh]

After listening to the audio you sound like a smart a%%. Where u live is it legal to record without advising them you are?

 

[Colbymh]

That phone was cracked 100%.

 

[Colbymh]

Where is the common sense.. cmon.. you cant have a false arrest if they are acting on information they believed to be true. If they knew it was wrong and decided to do it anyway, then there is a problem..

So many knee jerk arm chair ambulance chasers on here.

 

[AMann]

the Park is super anti-drone, which I do not understand.

In just the few weeks since this incident, they wrote a new ordinance and voted it into law.

This new ordinance is illegal and unenforceable.

My new mission is getting them to rescind their new drone ordinance.

Here’s their new addition to the rules regarding drones in that ordinance- the way it was written, it is legal and is enforceable in that it prevents people from using park property to land or take off drones on the park property, just like other state and even federal parks can and do prevent it. They cant prevent you from flying over them, just not landing or taking off or while you are standing in them to fly your drone:

Safety & Rules – Genesee County Parks

 

[Cymruflyer]

The same thing happened in an upscale village in western New York State. Having no idea of federal drone laws they passed unenforceable local drone flying ordinances. To my understanding the village police do not intend to enforce them as they contradict federal regulations on flying. It would seem that those that fly drones need a strong advocating association for drones as the NRA is to fire arms. I'm not passing judgement here on the NRA so don't overread into this but when you see how strong their lobbying power is it would appear that the way drones are being treated such a strong organization would be beneficial to push back on all of the ignorance.

AOPA now have a Drone section so you can join there, that is the largest organization you could wish for, to be pro drone, let's hope they really are, rather than just trying to jump on the band wagon of getting people to pay them money so they can keep an eye on them..

 

[Drgnfli]

Screw that! Why do people think that the "drone community" needs to walk on egg shells and kiss *** just to enjoy a perfectly legal hobby? God forbid any of us try and defend ourselves incase it might leave a bad taste in someone's mouth. We have every right to challenge.

None of this shouldn't have happened in the first place. From his account, he was minding his own business enjoying his perfectly legal hobby and gets harassed.

Well said!!! The cop was/is a fracking bully!

 

[Drgnfli]

There's no reason for that comment... Having dealt with a cop that didn't know the law but took a few minutes to learn it before she responded to the situation, your comparison is out of line.

Read my other reply on cops! Sry I hurt your feelings, but we don't need any more "bully" cops on the street. If you are not familiar with the laws, don't be busting our butts just because you want to bully somebody. BTW, my son is a cop, so chill out! Please read comments 170 & 180 - seems they know Nazis too!

 

[Colbymh]

With the money you saved on the trial, sue the bad cop personally for dereliction of duty and have the defect fired.
Only when their feral ignorance is made personally accountable does it go away. He isn't a cop... he is a thug.

Ya that same guy is the one u call when ur crying for help. Such a thug, yet mr smarty pants is what.. a fng hero???? Sue the cop.. lmao.. ya good idea, waste ur money by suing.. go get ur hot mcdonalds coffee next.

 

[Colbymh]

No! The cop was a smart *** with a bully complex & pushed it. This was not a hairy situation! A person flying a harmless drone all by himself without weapons is not 'disrespectful'. As soon as Lapeer did not bough down & grovel for the bully cop, he was in "trouble." Maybe a little more "tack" could have helped but I think this cop was out for kicking some butt...

Wow sounds like you were right there with him since u know it all.. awesome, good work..

 

[Lapeer20m]

Really? I agree that they ..... Which shows that not all cops are like the OP's cops.

Most cops are not like this. As I reply to this thread I am sitting in a room watching tv with a couple of buddies who are police offers. I’ve been in public safety for the past 20 years. I am not at all anti-cop. I do demand that they act in a lawful manner. That’s not too much to ask.

 

[Lapeer20m]

Here’s their new addition to the rules regarding drones in that ordinance- the way it was written, it is legal and is enforceable in that it prevents people from using park property to land or take off drones on the park property, just like other state and even federal parks can and do prevent it. They cant prevent you from flying over them, just not landing or taking off or while you are standing in them to fly your drone:

Safety & Rules – Genesee County Parks

Still Not enforceable. This new ordinance is clearly unlawful.

The state of Michigan prohibits local units of government from enacting or enforcing drone regulations.

Mcl 259.305

“(1) Except as expressly authorized by statute, a political subdivision shall not enact or enforce an ordinance or resolution that regulates the ownership or operation of unmanned aircraft or otherwise engage in the regulation of the ownership or operation of unmanned aircraft.”

Which will make the next chapter of this saga pretty interesting.

Here’s my prediction:

The park rescinds this new unenforceable ordinance, and retrains their officers on how to properly ignore drone pilots.

 

[netfolks2000]

I agree the cop was overly aggressive. But you don't know the last call he was on, what he went through, what kind of person he had to deal with, what ensured. They are human and affected by things just like you. The trigger was "Do I look like I'm flying in an airplane?" (if I got it exactly right) Better to have said, "Officer, I believe the law says......." You don't know the tone of the OP either, how he said that. Even a snarled, sarcastic look can trigger someone. They get little respect as a human from their "customers." They are threatened, prodded and cursed at all day sometimes, depending on their "beat." You should ride with one some night. Some places still allow that.

 

[Mr. Salty]

But you don't know the last call he was on, what he went through, what kind of person he had to deal with, what ensured.

First, he was a park ranger not a homicide detective. And it doesn't matter. Police are or should be trained to keep their emotions in check and behave professionally.

 

[David Hasselhoff]

I agree the cop was overly aggressive. But you don't know the last call he was on, what he went through, what kind of person he had to deal with, what ensured. They are human and affected by things just like you. The trigger was "Do I look like I'm flying in an airplane?" (if I got it exactly right) Better to have said, "Officer, I believe the law says......." You don't know the tone of the OP either, how he said that. Even a snarled, sarcastic look can trigger someone. They get little respect as a human from their "customers." They are threatened, prodded and cursed at all day sometimes, depending on their "beat." You should ride with one some night. Some places still allow that.

While I get your point....

1- it was a park ranger. I think this 'cop' is a classic example of a guy who was bullied growing up and now wants to flex all the authority he has.

2- We do know the tone of the OP, he has it recorded. Initially just reading the text I thought that line "do i look like I'm flying in an airplane" was pretty sarcastic, however I was surprised and it didn't sound that bad on the audio actually.

 

[AMann]

While I get your point....

1- it was a park ranger. I think this 'cop' is a classic example of a guy who was bullied growing up and now wants to flex all the authority he has.

2- We do know the tone of the OP, he has it recorded. Initially just reading the text I thought that line "do i look like I'm flying in an airplane" was pretty sarcastic, however I was surprised and it didn't sound that bad on the audio actually.

They are not “cops” they are cops - actually licensed police officers in the state of Michigan. That one needed to go back and retrain a bit on how to manage and not escalate a enforcement situation, he’s putting people and his department at risk.