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Seattle man imprisoned for reckless drone flying!

Grey Wolf

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Here is an article I cut and pasted for all the yahoo flyers out there who think they are above the law !
Hopefully, this will get the message home that you must follow the rules as well as use common sense and have insurance!

Pilot of drone that struck woman at Pride Parade gets 30 days in jail
Originally published February 24, 2017 at 1:00 pm Updated February 24, 2017 at 6:21 pm

The case marked the first time the Seattle City Attorney’s Office has charged anyone with mishandling a drone in a public space.

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By

Steve Miletich

Seattle Times staff reporter

A man who was found guilty of reckless endangerment after his drone injured two people during Seattle’s 2015 Pride Parade, including a woman knocked unconscious, was sentenced Friday to 30 days in jail.

The sentence, which also included a $500 fine, was imposed on Paul M. Skinner, 38, by Seattle Municipal Court Willie Gregory, according to the City Attorney’s Office.

Gregory told Skinner, who lost control of the drone, he recognized the incident that injured the parade goers was an accident, the office said in a news release.

But Skinner had “engaged in conduct that put people in danger of being injured, which is what happened,” Gregory said.

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City Attorney Pete Holmes, who had sought 90 days of jail time, said in the release that he views the faulty operation of drones “as a serious public-safety issue that will only get worse,” noting the increasing prevalence of drones on the market.

Skinner, the owner of an aerial photography company, was convicted by a jury last month of the gross misdemeanor after being charged with conduct that created a “substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury to another person.”

The case marked the first time the City Attorney’s Office has charged anyone with mishandling a drone in a public space.

Skinner declined to comment when reached by phone Friday. His attorney, Jeffrey Kradel, said the sentence was “too severe” for an act that wasn’t intentional.

He said his client was singled out for harsh treatment to scare other drone users, calling that an improper use of prosecutorial authority.

The woman, then 25, was standing near Fourth Avenue and Madison Street on June 28, 2015, when the 18-inch-by-18-inch drone crashed into a building and fell into the crowd, striking her in the head, according to Seattle police.

The woman’s boyfriend caught her as she fell to the ground. An off-duty firefighter helped treat the woman and called for police.

The drone retailed for about $1,200 and weighed about 2 pounds, police said at the time.

During the trial, prosecutors called several witnesses to testify, including the woman, who suffered a concussion, and a man who suffered a minor bruise, according to the City Attorney’s Office.

The verdict came days after representatives of Seattle’s Space Needle revealed an incident — captured on video — in which a flying drone struck the structure’s roof while pyrotechnicians were prepping for the fireworks display on New Year’s Eve.

During Friday’s sentencing, Assistant City Prosecutor Raymond Lee said Seattle residents “should not fear a drone strike falling from the sky” and that Skinner created the situation that caused the harm, according to the news release.

In handing down the sentence, Gregory, who had presided over the trial, told Skinner the injured woman “had a hard time talking about what happened to her when you placed that drone in the air,” the news release said.

A May 25 hearing has been set to determine the amount of restitution Skinner owes the woman for her medical treatment.

Skinner’s attorney said he will appeal the verdict. While pending, Skinner will not have to serve the 30 days in jail or pay the fine.

Even with the appeal, Skinner will have to take a certified class on drone safety under the sentence.

Holmes praised the work of Lee and his co-counsel, Assistant City Attorney Jeff Wolf.

“With limited legal tools at our disposal,” Holmes said, “I’m extremely proud of the job” they did.

“Operators should know that we will continue to go after them when they disregard public safety,” he said.

Information from Seattle Times archives is included in this story. Steve Miletich: 206-464-3302or [email protected] On Twitter @stevemiletich
 
Can we create a dislike button for posts like this?
I don't see threads like this in my car forums from members telling other forum members to be warned or else this (insert article here) could happen to you!!
Relax, enjoy talking about your MP with others across the world and leave the lecturing to your kids.
 
Can we create a dislike button for posts like this?
I don't see threads like this in my car forums from members telling other forum members to be warned or else this (insert article here) could happen to you!!
Relax, enjoy talking about your MP with others across the world and leave the lecturing to your kids.

The difference is, your car already has well established rules and it's not particularly special that someone gets a ticket for speeding or drunk driving.

The case marked the first time the Seattle City Attorney’s Office has charged anyone with mishandling a drone in a public space.

First time rulings create precedence for other rulings so this is kinda of a big deal.
 
I think if you injured anyone with anything it would create the same charges. This is why they have the assault with a deadly weapon or battery charges. It doesn't necessarily matter what object was used to create the injury, it's the fact it created an injury that matters.
I could hold my MP and hit someone in the head with it, I would get charged. It's not as earth shattering news as the OP has made this story out to be.
 
Can we create a dislike button for posts like this?
I don't see threads like this in my car forums from members telling other forum members to be warned or else this (insert article here) could happen to you!!
Relax, enjoy talking about your MP with others across the world and leave the lecturing to your kids.

I'm guessing you drive a Jaaaahhhg? Where they're above all that.

I am on a forum that has a section dedicated to idiots being caught on Dashcam and follow ups on how long they are now serving etc. They are not worded in a look what could happen to you ...more like wow! What an eejit!

Dislike? Nah, I found the article on affair baby man a little interesting but concluded his wife was a mug.
 
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I am curious what the FAA had to say on this and if was ever reported to them. It definitely should have been. It caused bodily injury.
 
I am curious what the FAA had to say on this and if was ever reported to them. It definitely should have been. It caused bodily injury.
Sigh... THIS is how our hobby goes away. Always running to big mommy government and telling and whining about ****. Grow up and stop letting the government into your buisness. SMH.
 
I'm guessing you drive a Jaaaahhhg? Where they're above all that.

I am on a forum that has a section dedicated to idiots being caught on Dashcam and follow ups on how long they are now serving etc. They are not worded in a look what could happen to you ...more like wow! What an eejit!

Dislike? Nah, I found the article on affair baby man a little interesting but concluded his wife was a mug.
Not a Jag, an Audi...and we're not above "all that", we just have better things to talk about then how idiotic people are. Based on your comment about watching dash cams I'm guessing you're on a Civic forum.
Thumbswayup
 
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topics like this hit home as a motorcycle rider that has been hit by someone in their car while they were texting and driving.

Guess what, she got away with a fine and ticket for reckless endangerment with a motor vehicle.

Guess who had to pay for my medical treatment and motorcycle damage. My wallet and my insurance company that also collects money from my wallet.

Yes it is still wrong to fly over a crowd, it's stated in a couple portions of the manual included in the box and when you register.

To say it's the same as being hit with anything, well I'm of a different opinion on that one. A car and a drone are two different things, albeit both are capable of inflicting serious to fatal situations.
 
Not a Jag, an Audi...and we're not above "all that", we just have better things to talk about then how idiotic people are. Based on your comment about watching dash cams I'm guessing you're on a Civic forum.
Thumbswayup

German Jag. Close enough! Too busy discussing fault readouts, eh? ;-)

Not a Civic, a Spanish Audi btw. Where they also spend lots of time discussing fault readouts.

Anyway it's news, and as it is online, and in mainstream media then I'm pretty sure it will be on the radar of the authorities. It is the "drone bad" section of the media which is the most damaging. Using unconfirmed reports where it "may" have been a drone.
 
Sigh... THIS is how our hobby goes away. Always running to big mommy government and telling and whining about ****. Grow up and stop letting the government into your buisness. SMH.

Probably the same mentality of someone who would hit a car and drive away without reporting it. The law is the law. If you don't like having first world problems you could always try another country.
 
Probably the same mentality of someone who would hit a car and drive away without reporting it. The law is the law. If you don't like having first world problems you could always try another country.

Or not. I am personnaly repsonsible for my actions and I don't need a government to make me be responsible. It's people who think LAW are what makes right, that has got us in this mess in the first place. Don't be a statist, it's not a good color on a man.
 
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Thought liberals was pro new things, i.e. drones.. ? LOL :)

Gotta be great to blame everything bad in the world on someone you dont like.... Sigh.
 
Regarding laws... to quote MLK, Jr.

"We should never forget that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was “legal” and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was “illegal.” It was “illegal” to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler’s Germany. "

It used to be cool - even patriotic - to question authority. Today, the motto is, "Question anyone who questions authority". While many laws are safety-based, it is foolish to think that a lot of them don't serve an ulterior purpose.
 
Laws are written all the time. Many are flat out bad laws. They stay on the books until someone breaks said law and explains to the court why it is a bad law. That is how it works. The Drone "laws" are absolutely ridiculous at the moment.

Out of probably close to an uncountable amount of flight hours by experienced pilots and novices alike, there have been for all intents and purposes practically no injuries. It must be one of the safest hobbies humans can participate in.

I posit that bicycling is far more dangerous to the operator and bystanders. I move for legislation that all bicycle owners register their bicycles with the newly created FBA. Any bicyclist who posts a video on YouTube of themselves bicycling near wildlife or people or property should be tracked down and fined. If you crash into another person or property, jail time must ensue in order to keep our citizens safe from these pesky bicyclists.

Quite frankly I am waiting for the "inevitable" drone vs. plane collision all you crybabys are worried about...."In other news....toy drone ******* obliterated by 747...most likely vaporized upon impact as no trace of drone can be found." Meanwhile the passengers remained completely oblivious as they shared pictures of the peanuts to Facebook with the caption "LUNCH"
 
Quite frankly I am waiting for the "inevitable" drone vs. plane collision all you crybabys are worried about...."In other news....toy drone ******* obliterated by 747...most likely vaporized upon impact as no trace of drone can be found." Meanwhile the passengers remained completely oblivious as they shared pictures of the peanuts to Facebook with the caption "LUNCH"

I agree with the poster who pointed out that legal things are not always right, and the right thing is not always legal, but let's not get carried away - if you're "looking forward" to this, you probably haven't done a lot of hitting things at 300mph with a few hundred people up the back.
 
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I agree with the poster who pointed out that legal things are not always right, and the right thing is not always legal, but let's not get carried away - if you're "looking forward" to this, you probably haven't done a lot of hitting things at 300mph with a few hundred people up the back.

I certainly did get carried away. This is the Internet, afterall. However, I did not say, "looking forward."
 
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