I made a mistake and got a citation. Do you have any advice on the severity of this ticket?

[DaveBart]

I live at the beach in San Diego and unfortunately, there was a shark attack today at our beach. I flew my drone to go past the beach and look over the ocean. About 5mins after I went up a helicopter entered the area. My instinct was to immediately clear the area but the sheriffs told me to bring it home. As I landed they came to me and gave me a citation it was a 402 (a) 2.

I completely understand now that I shouldn't of even put it up. I did not impede anything but by bringing it home instead of listening to my instinct it caused a problem for the sheriff's.

Any advice on the severity of this ticket or outcomes others have had would be appreciated.

You did not tell us what Code book the 402 (a) 2 is from. Didn't they explain what the violation was? Probably a local San Diego Beach ordinance. Pay it and say thanks and learn a lesson for all of us .

 

[ScubaBob]

I live at the beach in San Diego and unfortunately, there was a shark attack today at our beach. I flew my drone to go past the beach and look over the ocean. About 5mins after I went up a helicopter entered the area. My instinct was to immediately clear the area but the sheriffs told me to bring it home. As I landed they came to me and gave me a citation it was a 402 (a) 2.

I completely understand now that I shouldn't of even put it up. I did not impede anything but by bringing it home instead of listening to my instinct it caused a problem for the sheriff's.

Any advice on the severity of this ticket or outcomes others have had would be appreciated.

I would first find out what the penalty is if you plead guilty. If it is steep then I would plead not guilty with an explanation and hope the judge will allow you to talk. I would deeply apologize, plead ignorance that you did not realize that area was still an "emergency response area", that you are a safe pilot, you subscribe to drone pilot web sites so you can keep informed of the every changing rules and laws regarding drones, etc. and ask for either probation or a reduced fine as you have never before broken the law. Showing remorse is very important to a judge.

 

[FMR]

Obviously he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
He admits he shouldn't have been airborne getting in the way of emergency patrolling helicopters not a good look.
Sounds like all he's now wanting to know how much trouble he's in.
Sounds like most here are keen to advise him on how to shift the blame or pursue the legal techniques of getting off the penalty.
Really it's not a game people **
Can anyone answer his question ?

 

[theDRONEranger]

Maybe, just MAYBE!!!!! . . . he was looking for the shark.


Part 107 or not???
If yes . . .
He could possibly argue his first Amendment right as an independent news-person, seeking more info for his story.

If no . . . illegal to sell story without the Part 107, hope for critical understanding from Da Judge!!
Either way, I do wish him no ill will and hope that he is not fined but, however, if he is, that it only be a slap on the wrist, and a wag of the judge's index finger.

Regardless, it all sounds like he immediately followed all instructions by law enforcement authorities.

 

[sar104]

Obviously he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
He admits he shouldn't have been airborne getting in the way of emergency patrolling helicopters not a good look.
Sounds like all he's now wanting to know how much trouble he's in.
Sounds like most here are keen to advise him on how to shift the blame or pursue the legal techniques of getting off the penalty.
Really it's not a game people **
Can anyone answer his question ?

Probably not - that will be up to the court and how well he argues his case and what, exactly, happened. If, for example, he was flying over the ocean either before the emergency, or unaware of the emergency, and then LEO requested that he fly a direct route back that subsequently interfered with the helicopter, then he might have a good defense. But if he flew out to take a look at the commotion on the beach, then that's less promising.

 

[captirwin]

Under what authority? The local cops do not control airspace. If you were operating safely, and moving to avoid the copter, you are in compliance assuming you were not in controlled airspace.

Not exactly true. Nevada has an ordnance that requires a drone to be 250 feet above private property without permission of the property owner. Its on the books, look it up.

 

[sar104]

Not exactly true. Nevada has an ordnance that requires a drone to be 250 feet above private property without permission of the property owner. Its on the books, look it up.

It may be on the books, but it conflicts with Federal Law.

 

[Lil' DronePilot]

[QUOTE="
The defendant stopped for the purpose of viewing the scene or the activities of police officers, firefighters, emergency medical or other emergency personnel

1. The defendant knew or should have known that the officers or emergency personnel were engaged in the performance of their dutiies[/QUOTE]

So I’m confused! I’m no lawyer, but there is case law that protects citizens from recording law enforcement during the performance of their duties. It’s not illegal to do so with a phone or any recording device, but it is with a drone? I get all the suggested rules for hobbyist and Part 107, but it seems like such a double standard. I also understand yielding to other aircrafts but if there is no one else there? Come on!

 

[BobDoLe]

I hate to say it, but i have some experience with interfering with first responders in the state of CA.
It was a long long time ago and i was driving a car, but i had two important lessons learned (other than don't be an impatient jerk and try to drive past a peace officer holding back traffic).

1. The cop, albeit justifiably, was very upset and intended to throw everything in the book at me in that ticket.
2. He was so upset and busy that he didn't properly note everything to support the ticket.

I did go to court and came out unscathed. If i were the original poster i would definitely have already talked to a lawyer. The San Diego court website has links to lawyer referral and they will give you something like a free 30 minute consultation. Most likely their fee would be too high to actually represent you (vs the fine) and they'll just tell you what you're up against and what to do.
After talking to a legal expert you'll probably find yourself regretting the act of seeking legal advice here more than the actual dirty drone deed.

 

[sar104]

So I’m confused! I’m no lawyer, but there is case law that protects citizens from recording law enforcement during the performance of their duties. It’s not illegal to do so with a phone or any recording device, but it is with a drone? I get all the suggested rules for hobbyist and Part 107, but it seems like such a double standard. I also understand yielding to other aircrafts but if there is no one else there? Come on!

The alleged problem was not recording the scene - it was interfering with emergency operations, in this case an EMS helicopter.

 

[MavicPro1966]

Be aware of your surroundings before you fly.

 

[continuecrushing]

I'd just pay the fine.

For those who don't know, OP (and I) reside in California and our wonderfully amazing cough cough governor has made just about everything a near zero penalty. I'd assume that it will be a small fine and that's it, just like any other ticket or citation.

 

[Lil' DronePilot]

Oh ok.

 

[hoggdoc]

Under what authority? The local cops do not control airspace. If you were operating safely, and moving to avoid the copter, you are in compliance assuming you were not in controlled airspace.

I totally agree, but COPS these days don't need any authority as they seem to do whatever they want.

Also I am curious exactly what is the tick for, what is the code or law?

 

[SharkHunter2012]

I live at the beach in San Diego and unfortunately, there was a shark attack today at our beach. I flew my drone to go past the beach and look over the ocean. About 5mins after I went up a helicopter entered the area. My instinct was to immediately clear the area but the sheriffs told me to bring it home. As I landed they came to me and gave me a citation it was a 402 (a) 2.

I completely understand now that I shouldn't of even put it up. I did not impede anything but by bringing it home instead of listening to my instinct it caused a problem for the sheriff's.

Any advice on the severity of this ticket or outcomes others have had would be appreciated.

It sounds to me that you did nothing wrong, I would have to get the complete story. If you where clear, and steered away from the pilot, did not fly over the crowd, you had time to fly clear, you might be able to plead your case before a judge under a first time fly, let them k you owe you where there first and left when things got busy for safety reasons. See if a warning is available.

 

[neggy]

Not exactly true. Nevada has an ordnance that requires a drone to be 250 feet above private property without permission of the property owner. Its on the books, look it up.

And if someone wanted to challenge the state /local law, the Federal law takes precedent, and it would get thrown out.

Here is a case where the Feds tossed most of the local law out:
Singer v. City of Newton-(Case Declaring Local Drone Law Illegal) -

2. Operational Restrictions.
A. Altitude
Subsection (c)(1)(a) prohibits pilotless aircraft flight below an altitude of 400 feet over any private property without the express permission of the property owner.

Court: This is conflict preempted because Congress intended the FAA to use airspace to integrate drones. The FAA picked 0-400ft above ground level for non-recreational flyers. This ordinance effectively frustrates Congress’ and FAA’s implementation of the integration of drones into the national airspace from 0-400ft above the ground level.

Subsection (c)(1)(e) prohibits pilotless aircraft flight over public property, at any altitude, without prior permission from Newton.

Court: This is conflict preempted because there is no altitude limit, it goes up into navigable airspace.

 

[moonlitnite]

Flying in emergency airspace with emergency aircraft - STRIKE ONE
Flying bold and brazenly where authorities can clearly see you - STRIKE TWO
Not ditching your UAV in the ocean or having a RTM beyond LOS - STRIKE THREE, YOU'RE OUT!
Now there, this tongue in cheek snarky post ought to stir up the ashes

 

[Cheech Wizard]

Curious, how the op is mia from this post?

County jail?

 

[LawFlyer]

Friends,

I am a lawyer, and I have been licensed to practice law in California for 16 1/2 years. I don't practice "drone law" specifically, but I wanted to share a few thoughts on this stuff.

First, this is NOT a civil traffic ticket -- it's a CRIMINAL charge. Yes, it's "only" a misdemeanor, but so are most DUIs. If the OP is convicted, he will have a criminal record for the rest of his life. So this is really not just a matter of "pay the fine and move on". Anyone who is saying that really has no clue what they are talking about.

Second, some people have said it's a bad idea to get legal advice from an online forum. I agree with that in part. It would be a TERRIBLE idea to simply read some posts on a message board and then make a decision based on that stuff. But, there is nothing wrong with using the web to conduct some preliminary research and thus gain a better understanding of the situation.

Third, the original post here was not very detailed, but at least based on how the situation was explained, I am not certain the OP is guilty of violating the law (the law being California Penal Code Section 402(a)).

The text of this statute is shown below. The critical point is NOT merely that the OP flew a drone "near" an emergency. That by itself would not be enough to violate the law. The violation requires proof that you went to (or remained at) the scene of an emergency, and thereby impeded law enforcement or emergency personally in the performance of their duties.

Based on the story from the OP, did that happen here? I don't know, and neither does anyone else (except for the OP and the police). Bottom line, if the cops were merely annoyed at the OP for flying a drone, that would clearly not be sufficient to violate the law. Rather, the cops would have to show that the drone IMPEDED their ability to perform their duties in some way. Without more information, it's impossible to know if that happened or not.

The good news, of course, is that the prosecution has the burden of proof. A criminal defendant is not required to prove that they did NOT break the law -- the prosecutor must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that they did break it.

In this situation, you could prove the police were "impeded" simply by calling a witness who can explain why the drone interfered with law enforcement's activities. This wouldn't be hard to do -- the helicopter pilot could simply testify that he had to veer off-course or avoid the area until he was sure the drone had left. But at the same time, it's possible the helicopter pilot would say that actually, the drone wasn't even an issue at all. In that case, the OP is not guilty and he should absolutely fight this.

For now, my advice is to simply go to the first court date (usually called an initial appearance). All you need to do is enter a plea (not guilty) and then you can talk to the prosecutor about options. This might be possible at the initial appearance, or it may have to wait until your next court date. Either way, you cannot make an informed decision about the best move here without more information.....so go gather that information, and then you can decide what to do. If you want to save a few dollars and represent yourself, that's your choice....but if there is no clear evidence that the drone impeded the situation, I would hire a lawyer and fight this. Even if it costs a few thousand bucks, it's worth it not to have a criminal conviction on your record.


West's Ann.Cal.Penal Code § 402
§ 402. Interference with personnel at scene of emergency; interference with lifeguard

(a)(1) Every person who goes to the scene of an emergency, or stops at the scene of an emergency, for the purpose of viewing the scene or the activities of police officers, firefighters, emergency medical, or other emergency personnel, or military personnel coping with the emergency in the course of their duties during the time it is necessary for emergency vehicles or those personnel to be at the scene of the emergency or to be moving to or from the scene of the emergency for the purpose of protecting lives or property, unless it is part of the duties of that person's employment to view that scene or those activities, and thereby impedes police officers, firefighters, emergency medical, or other emergency personnel or military personnel, in the performance of their duties in coping with the emergency, is guilty of a misdemeanor.

(2) For purposes of this subdivision, a person shall include a person, regardless of his or her location, who operates or uses an unmanned aerial vehicle, remote piloted aircraft, or drone that is at the scene of an emergency.

(b) Every person who knowingly resists or interferes with the lawful efforts of a lifeguard in the discharge or attempted discharge of an official duty in an emergency situation, when the person knows or reasonably should know that the lifeguard is engaged in the performance of his or her official duty, is guilty of a misdemeanor.

(c) For the purposes of this section, an emergency includes a condition or situation involving injury to persons, damage to property, or peril to the safety of persons or property, which results from a fire, an explosion, an airplane crash, flooding, windstorm damage, a railroad accident, a traffic accident, a powerplant accident, a toxic chemical or biological spill, or any other natural or human-caused event.

 

[CarlsbadAL]

Just wanted to everyone know, this was

I live at the beach in San Diego and unfortunately, there was a shark attack today at our beach. I flew my drone to go past the beach and look over the ocean. About 5mins after I went up a helicopter entered the area. My instinct was to immediately clear the area but the sheriffs told me to bring it home. As I landed they came to me and gave me a citation it was a 402 (a) 2.

I completely understand now that I shouldn't of even put it up. I did not impede anything but by bringing it home instead of listening to my instinct it caused a problem for the sheriff's.

Any advice on the severity of this ticket or outcomes others have had would be appreciated.

Ju

I live at the beach in San Diego and unfortunately, there was a shark attack today at our beach. I flew my drone to go past the beach and look over the ocean. About 5mins after I went up a helicopter entered the area. My instinct was to immediately clear the area but the sheriffs told me to bring it home. As I landed they came to me and gave me a citation it was a 402 (a) 2.

I completely understand now that I shouldn't of even put it up. I did not impede anything but by bringing it home instead of listening to my instinct it caused a problem for the sheriff's.

Any advice on the severity of this ticket or outcomes others have had would be appreciated.