Have you ever encountered a Law Enforcement Official (LEO) while flying? What happened?

[retiredNH]

Just yesterday I was flying at a city port that had two Coast Guard ships docked. I was in a parking lot nearby and flew out and around the larger ship, not circling it but going around the side at some reasonable distance….200ft perhaps. I flew out toward the water and returned and by the time I got back a CG person approached me to tell me they were testing radar and wanted to be sure I didn’t get too close out of concern they might mess me up (not sure how), and didn’t want me to approach too closely either. I asked if I had been too close earlier and he said, “no. not at all” and proceeded to tell me about he and his kids and how much they enjoyed flying their drone. No problem. No confrontation. Good experience.

Radar uses much more power than cell phone antennas or even microwave communication links (most of which are obsolete?), and it's usually concentrated in a narrow beam, so the power density is even higher. Therefore, it can overload circuits even when they have protection built in.
I'm sure that's why the guy cautioned you, not to "check you out"...

 

[Freddy K]

Last winter, shortly after buying my first drone (Ryze Tello), I decided to fly around the countryside near where I live in Spain. No one in sight, happily flying over and under the bridge where I was standing on, when I suddenly noticed a car stopping behind me. I took a quick glympse and saw that it was a black and white car with some fancy looking blue lights on its roof (oh-ooh).
I heard the driver get out of the car, so I decided to bring the little Tello back down.

While i was trying to land (a bit more cautious than normal because I felt somewhat stressed), the officer did not say anything. He gave me all the time I needed to land and turn off the propellors.

He then said hello and asked me if I knew that I was flying in a restricted air space. Being a complete noob at the time, I didn't think that these no-fly zones were also valid for a 90 grams Tello, plus the nearest airport was at least 15km away.
So I told him I wasn't aware of this, that I just got this "toy" drone and didn't think I was doing anything wrong by flying there.

He was very courteous, asked if he could see my drone and told me that, despite the small weight, I had to follow official regulations. He told me about an official website (drones.enaire.es) where I could find all the no-fly zones in Spain and suggested I looked there first before flying.
We talked a little more about drones and that even police officers had to ask for permission before they could fly their drone in this area.
He then opened the rear door of his police car, took out a safety case and opened it to show me his own drone (a DJI Mavic 2) which he sometimes used for his job.

All in all, a friendly encounter with a helpful and understanding LEO.

 

[Dougcjohn]

Radar uses much more power than cell phone antennas or even microwave communication links (most of which are obsolete?), and it's usually concentrated in a narrow beam, so the power density is even higher. Therefore, it can overload circuits even when they have protection built in.
I'm sure that's why the guy cautioned you, not to "check you out"...

Agree on the radar & power!

Microwave still used often in Rural Ag areas by Coop and various Farm Operations. Plenty still mounted on towers, and to watch out for.