How flying a drone led to an arrest....

[mavic3usa]

....for obstruction? Not sure of the exact charges.

Of course, Google couldn't wait to alert me about this so....here we go! I don't need to add my opinion, I think it is well-known how I feel but only to say I have concerns about allowing state and local law officials to enforce drone rules and regulations. Obviously there are certain exigent circumstances that are egregious and/or exceptional which require immediate action to avoid bad things from happening but I would prefer super-limited guidance from the FAA which is not only legal but also clearly defines the boundaries and processes in order to protect the rights of drone flyers.

Like most circumstances, no situation is perfect and the outcome can't always be ideal for everyone. What are your thoughts on what happened here? Is this what will become as new drone laws are passed at the state and local level?

(not me, not my video)

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[msinger]

What are your thoughts on what happened here?

Mistakes were made. The pilot accidentally flew into restricted airspace and forgot his ID at home. The takeaway? Always prepare before every flight and avoid antagonizing the authorities by claiming expertise and refusing to identify yourself.

I don't need to add my opinion, I think it is well-known how I feel

I doubt most people know how you feel. Feel free to share if you'd like.

 

[mavic3usa]

Mistakes were made. The pilot accidentally flew into restricted airspace and forgot his ID at home. The takeaway? Always prepare before every flight and avoid antagonizing the authorities by claiming expertise and refusing to identify yourself.


I doubt most people know how you feel. Feel free to share if you'd like.

Why do you think the prosecuting attorney dropped all charges?

My answer is because none of the charges were valid and the arrest was illegal. I realize he said the reason is because he didn't think he could win the case but that's just legal-speak. If someone commits a crime and you feel you can't win, you offer a plea bargain.

I'll let others chime in here before I give my opinion beyond that other than to say this is exactly why I don't want local law enforcement in charge of drone regulations because they are quick to arrest....for what? Flying a drone?

Otherwise, yes there were quite a few mistakes on both sides which is interesting since it appears he is part 107. I understand why the LEO made mistakes; that's what they do.

 

[msinger]

Why do you think the prosecuting attorney dropped all charges?

Or perhaps the better question is why did the pilot deliberately provoke the authorities, prompting them to seek his arrest in the first place? He certainly did himself no favors, even if he wasn't committing the crime of the century.

 

[DoomMeister]

mistakes on both sides, but the aggressive cop was a little dicktator.

Lesson 1) never fly without your TRUST/§107 certificate on hand.

Lesson 2) if flying near a stadium and an event is scheduled, land before the TFR goes into effect

Lesson 3) don’t tempt a little dicktator.

 

[msinger]

Lesson 4) Press and then hold the power button to power down your drone.

 

[mavic3usa]

Or perhaps the better question is why did the pilot deliberately provoke the authorities, prompting them to seek his arrest in the first place? He certainly did himself no favors, even if he wasn't committing the crime of the century.

The stop was concluded when the investigating officer told the flyer to have a nice day and he was free to go. If I were the pilot, I would have left and not look back even if a second officer said "hold on, wait a second, you're detained." It was an illegal detention at that point so the prosecutor knows that and he knows anything that happened after this "mistake" is irrelevant.

As I mentioned in other threads, it depends who you are because when the 2nd officer said STOP then the first officer should have stepped in; it was his scene, the investigating was over; people have rights. Everybody on site doesn't get a crack at you and when the flyer felt his rights were on the way to being further violated, this often comes off as "deliberately provoking the authorities." He said it twice, he was standing on his rights which shouldn't prompt the police to break the law and arrest you but I understand how a drone flyer standing on his rights is a bit different than let's say a thief standing on his rights.

It's not the crime of the century but this pilot still might get a letter from the FAA, he got arrested which could still affect him, and they almost caused a medical emergency and now he has to think about suing the university and other officers in federal court. He gave up this FAA authorization details (which I would have never done) but which gives the police everything they need to know to properly investigate this matter but their lack of proper training on FAA and drones, their desire to do whatever they were told over the radio/phone, and their need to see a Florida driver's license where there is no such FL statute that requires a drone operator to present a driver's license to operate a drone.

So they made up a crime to effect a warrantless arrest after multiple attempts to try to pressure him and coerce him into giving his name and address so they can put his name on a list, investigate him and the incident later because they don't know the rules now, and then probably send him an arrest summons later. I don't blame anyone for not wanting to open themselves up for that kind of lack of due process. It's a 4th amendment violation to demand someone's property with their consent in order to copy the serial number and get a picture of his drone at any point before and up until arrest.

This is what we have forward to look to when it comes to local drone enforcement. It's always difficult and perhaps confusing in the beginning and I think people can see and understand this but what I saw when those officers didn't get their way they just call it "obstruction" and make the arrest, that's bogus.

 

[Cafguy]

I Know in this neck of the woods he would have been told that its not ok to fly your Drone without a TRUST card (maybe he had it on his phone). I don't think the local police have any business policing federal laws tho, its not what I pay them for.
Asking for the ID is crazy since he was doing nothing wrong. Arresting him was a BIG Mistake.
Not sure whats gonna happen to the cops but they certainly need training!