Advice on how to handle neighbor?

[caryflyboy]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but you stated that you're RETIRED, correct? If so, please explain how it would be aggravated battery of a peace officer. So, is there a charge of assaulting a RETIRED P/O? I doubt it since you didn't mention that. Your whole response sounds like B.S. to me. You also sound like a person who is actively looking for a confrontation, just like the drunk was with the OP.

Also, if I am in my yard no one has the authority to come into it, with the exception of police, I do not tolerate trespassing especially from a drunk.

 

[dirkclod]

Also, if I am in my yard no one has the authority to come into it, with the exception of police, I do not tolerate trespassing especially from a drunk.

You might but the use of deadly force you might be studying up on.
You might can if you fear for your life or someone else’s but just a drunk person trespassing isn’t reason enough.


.

 

[Bcampo]

Hi AF, Henrietta resident here. Glad to know other area pilot following the rules and keeping cool during not so neighborly interactions.

 

[dirkclod]

Hi AF, Henrietta resident here. Glad to know other area pilot following the rules and keeping cool during not so neighborly interactions.

What other area pilot. I didn’t see in his post speak of any others.
Now your off topic and just Asked all to stay on topic.
As most of you know me you know what my next post is going to be.

 

[vindibona1]

There are some takeaways from this anecdote.
First, when he first escalated the altercation the police should have gotten the call. You do not know how quickly such and encounter can escalate. If I were the OP I would use the police report and have a restraining order filed against the neighbor. You don't know what kind of crazy he is and a restraining order will make it so that his presence within a certain distance from you will get him taken away without having to explain any further incidents.


Second, something that needs to be stated for law abiding citizens: While you don't know where or when, probably when you least expect it THE FIGHT WILL ALWAYS COME TO YOU! You don't pick the time, place of amount of violence.
Third, know the law in your area. Sometimes the law boxes you into a corner. You were in your yard with nowhere to go if the neighbor got violent. That's where stand your ground laws and castle doctrine come into play. In some states stand your ground and the castle doctrine don't exist within the law. Regardless, your first line of legal defense regardless of where you are is "did you try to walk away/escape the situation"?

If I am confronted while flying and approached, if the approachee is pleasant I might politely ask if I might finish what I'm doing and land my drone safely before we have a discussion. If beligerant, after an attempt at a kind reply, I might say "I am an authorized FAA pilot and you are disrupting a legal flight. You need to wait until I have safely landed before I will have any discussion with you".

Unrelated to the above: While this happened to the OP in his back yard, it could happen anywhere. In today's crazy angry world, situational awareness is key. Know what's around you, especially before you fly as your attention will soon be immersed in your drone and it's controller. If you're not flying, try to stay out of your cell phones until you're in a safe space. You are particularly vulnerable when you're in a "transitional" space (from your car to a building, building to building, waiting for a stop light, etc. Thugs no longer limit their attacks to poorer neighborhoods and are constantly scanning for their next victim. Dismounting soap box.

 

[mobilehomer]

What other area pilot. I didn’t see in his post speak of any others.
Now your off topic and just Asked all to stay on topic.
As most of you know me you know what my next post is going to be.

Couple of things. Henrietta is a suburb of Rochester. So these two are area pilots. The thread title is "Advice on how to handle a neighbor?" So the post is on topic.

 

[dronerdave]

I've only had one bad incident with a deranged member of the public. There were three of us flying, me, my buddy, and his 22-year-old grand kid who was borrowing grandpa's drone. It was at a public fishing access and we had been there for a few hours when this guy pulled up close to us and just sat in his car. There was no reason to park so close to us but we didn't care...maybe he was going to fish. My buddies grand kid loaded a new battery and took to the air again and flew up about 100 feet and over to the waterway he had been imaging previously. He wasn't directly over the car with the drone and actually about 100 feet away from his car (as well as a hundred feet up). The guy went ballistic, jumped out of the car and approached the kid while flailing his arms and screaming he was trying to sleep and the noise was unbearable. The kid started with his typical entitlement attitude which just upset the guy more. The kids attitude also upset both of us adults as well. My buddy yelled at his grand kid to shut up and get his drone away from him and to land. Of course, the guy didn't stop yelling and approached my buddy (who was 82 years old) and continued popping off. There was no satisfying this dude and he told him we would stay clear of his vehicle. It still didn't calm him down and that was when I approached him and calmly asked what was the problem as if I didn't hear him going off on his rant. He yelled at me that he'd been coming there for lunch for years and we were ruining his experience. I told him we were so sorry about the noise and would stay clear of him but he told me to F-off and stomped off to his car. As he walked away, I told him to contact the Park Ranger if he felt the necessity to do so. Previously I had talked with the rangers at the park headquarters who didn't have a problem with us flying there and a week later the same rangers asked to look at video we took over the lake where some duck hunters were thought to be poaching geese. Even feeling there was no issues with the park personnel, I still wanted to keep a low profile (especially at public spot) because LE and other enforcement agencies always get two sides to each story. Sometimes it doesn't matter who is right or wrong and any incident might shut down our privilege to fly there. It was why we both told the kid to shut up. Of course, the kid defended his attitude until grandpa said he wouldn’t let him fly his drone anymore. Other than the kids’ attitude, I actually felt he did nothing wrong. As respectful drone pilots, we would have never driven up on somebody parked and take over the area with our drones. This guy drove up on us and could have parked elsewhere as there wasn’t a sole nearby. That upset me as much as his ranting. I just understand “they’re out there” and you can’t fix stupid.

 

[SoCal2S]

If you are worried about getting charged with brandishing a weapon, there are other ways to show they shouldn't mess with you, such as carrying it while wearing lighter color clothing, or the old classic, cleaning it.

You can't reason with a drunk, but if they are still upright, they still have some sense of danger. I don't have enough info to know if he's one of those people that will keep escalating, my point is that they are out there, and it's better to nip that in the bud.

 

[F00Man]

Just my two cents on the subject. @wardtom084 provided the perfect document that all UAS pilots should carry while flying @AFAngyWarrior handled the situation well for the position he is in. By that, I mean the military. I always search the area laws where I will be flying. The FAA is the easy one but the city, county, state laws very too much, for every new spot I fly, I know my rights under the constitution and the laws that can be enforced. (Trespassing, loitering, disorderly conduct, etc.). So, if approached by a law enforcement officer, do not let them violate your rights to be where you can be, fly were you can fly, and only provide FAA registration if asked. Do not let them tell you to provide and ID unless you are about to commit, in the process of committing, or have committed a specific crime. I'm sorry but your feelings do not trump my rights.

​

 

[edfrombama]

Good evening to all-
Well, brother, I'm glad the situation didn't get any more intense. And I'm afraid that the advice given you to have a firearm was extremely bad. Yes, I know about the 2nd Amendment. Yes, I know civilians have the right to bear arms. And yes, I know that people are killed quite often when a stupid person such as you dealt with feels that he's being threatened and decides to fire the first shot.
I've never won an argument with a drunk, and I don't think anyone else has either
Getting the police involved was a very good idea.
Lord, I'm glad I don't live in a city of any kind. People get crazier and crazier the more of them are piled together.
Please be careful and fly safely.

you all be safe and keep well- Ed

 

[SoCal2S]

There are bad apples out there, people that don’t speak the language of reason or care about morality. If you already have the tools to protect yourself and your family, don’t handicap yourself by leaving it out of reach.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Seriously, if worried about some regions and this happening (nutcases), I would invest in a small action cam and chest strap you could wear when flying, have it turned on all the time.
So many scenarios almost require this now, especially on the roads (dashcams in motor vehicles, motorcycle riders, and bicycle riders wearing them, to name a few).

If an areas or people are that bad you had to carry (ccw / open, whatever), it's probably time to move the family !

If this sort of person was to shoot you drone down, then having some video of it will be very helpful (you never say you have this, or that you are recording !).

One would hope you don't need to shoot someone over a drone flight, but as the OP said in his first post, snow shovelling, a LEO on duty outright killed, it does happen, so that's up to the OP (availability, capability, safety, willingness to use etc), local laws, and such.

You couldn't shoot someone if they were taking down your drone with a shotty or other such, best you can do is have good evidence and be able to provide this to LE.
Now if it was then pointed towards you, then yeah . . . rather be prepared than not.