Keep your cool during a confrontation . . .

[Trackerputnam]

I was in upper Washington the other day. I was there filming 20 acres for a client. I was parked on a public road in the woods by another car. I got set up to fly. As I took off the lady in the car jumps out with a revolver and angrily asks, “what the ( Inappropriate Language Removed z) I was doing”! Well that’s a first?. For what ever reason I did not feel threatened. I first looked at the gun, and being a revolver, it was easy to see it lacked ammunition.in the end we were sitting on my tailgate, discussing what she did wrong pulling the gun, and showing her how the drone worked. I got very valuable info from her about the property I question.
Yep, I could have had her arrested. Branding and Threatening a weapon is very serious. A felony if pushed. But in the end, I had a new friend in the area, and valuable info for my client!

 

[Thomas B]

Love happy endings!

 

[neggy]

my training tells me a gun displayed with the intent to use, at any distance is a deadly threat, my reaction would have been to drop her in her tracks.

If she did drop her weapon ( she dropped her weapon at the sight of mine), I would have held her at gunpoint until the cops arrived

In 40 years I have had to pull my weapon 3 times, the most recent was about a month ago, it is not something I do without considering the legal and moral ramifications ( I am a disciple of Massad Ayoob and if you don't know who he is, go look him up)... I don't make friends with people who put me in the position of having to consider drawing, or God forbid drawing my weapon

And if you can tell if there is not a round in the chamber of a revolver, even is the other chambers APPEAR empty, you have better eyesight than I

 

[Trackerputnam]

I was slso carrying at the time. Her demenor was enough that i was not worried! and yes i could see the gun was empty. But there could have been a round in where I could not see! I also have pulled a gun three times. Not fun and the shaking afterwords was bad.

 

[Jay241]

Glad everything ended well for both of you. Nice you kept your cool.

 

[MS Coast]

my training tells me a gun displayed with the intent to use, at any distance is a deadly threat, my reaction would have been to drop her in her tracks.

If she did drop her weapon ( she dropped her weapon at the sight of mine), I would have held her at gunpoint until the cops arrived

In 40 years I have had to pull my weapon 3 times, the most recent was about a month ago, it is not something I do without considering the legal and moral ramifications ( I am a disciple of Massad Ayoob and if you don't know who he is, go look him up)... I don't make friends with people who put me in the position of having to consider drawing, or God forbid drawing my weapon

And if you can tell if there is not a round in the chamber of a revolver, even is the other chambers APPEAR empty, you have better eyesight than I

"my reaction would have been to drop her in her tracks."

Fortunately, someone calmer and more rational was there.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

And if you can tell if there is not a round in the chamber of a revolver, even is the other chambers APPEAR empty,

Of course no one can see a round ready to go in a revolver, and even if other chambers appeared unloaded (it'd have to be pointed almost right at your face though !) they could be shorts / dum dums for reduced noise.

When I read the first sentence "drop her in her tracks" I though you meant knock her out !!
Reading on I realised it was to shoot.

Goes to show I live in Australia, drop someone is more towards using physical means here.

The way the OP described the initial confrontation, she must have though something terrorist related was going on.
Otherwise, the word nuts comes to mind.

 

[Kilboar]

Glad you were able to keep a cool head.

I carry but would not want to pull it out unless last resort. Would not want dropping someone on my conscious if it could’ve been avoided.

 

[DoomMeister]

Very glad cool heads prevailed in this instance. Not easy to drop someone if they already have the drop on you anyway.

 

[BigAl07]

Ok folks... this is a healthy discussion about an incident that could happen to ANY of us and it HAS happened to some of us (about 6 weeks ago here).

Let's keep the convo Civil, Kind, NICE and do NOT devolve into a pure Firearms conversation. We can nicely discuss what did happen and could happen without it being focused on the actual firearm. ANY conversations that do go down into the ditches will be removed, reprimanded, and the thread closed (no additional warnings will be given in this thread). Let's have a nice long friendly discussion

 

[Dale D]

I was in upper Washington the other day. I was there filming 20 acres for a client. I was parked on a public road in the woods by another car. I got set up to fly. As I took off the lady in the car jumps out with a revolver and angrily asks, “what the hell I was doing”! Well that’s a first?. For what ever reason I did not feel threatened. I first looked at the gun, and being a revolver, it was easy to see it lacked ammunition.in the end we were sitting on my tailgate, discussing what she did wrong pulling the gun, and showing her how the drone worked. I got very valuable info from her about the property I question.
Yep, I could have had her arrested. Branding and Threatening a weapon is very serious. A felony if pushed. But in the end, I had a new friend in the area, and valuable info for my client!

As long as we are telling war stories, here goes with mine. Recently, I was doing a timelapse in Wynwood, a hot new restaurant area in Miami. (you can see my Wynwood video on my Vimeo site). Timelapses require about 15 minutes of repeated shutter activations (this is not a drone story). I was shooting a wall of graffiti. During the shoot, a 50'ish year old man walks into my shot and hangs around longer than needed. I very politely advised him I was doing a timed photo of the wall and could he please move out of my shot. He then aggressively approached with both fists held up. He came right up to my camera lens , thoroughly obstructing the shot and actually ruining the entire time I had spent there. I mumbled quietly to myself, "what an a..hole." He started to shout, "what did you call me?, What did you call me?"

At this point I was not only trying the save my camera but my face. I quickly denied I had said anything and apologized, and he sort of cooled down. Finally, he broke off the attack and walked away.

I actually wished I had a hand gun at the time, but thankfully I didn't. These are rough time we are living in.

 

[Blairsville]

As a retired LEO, all guns are loaded.

 

[Vic Moss]

This is an issue that affects us all. And one we need to take VERY seriously.

Every drone operator out there (US or otherwise) need to have a plan of action when someone starts to come up to you. Planning ahead can help keep the situation safe. You have to be educated. It may literally save your life.

Mine is to deescalate the situation as much as possible. I also fly with a VO.

I'll speak specifically of U.S. laws here. Other countries have different rules. But some of this info is good for everyone. And a firearm doesn't have to be involved.

First, download the print out 18 USC§32: Destruction of aircraft or aircraft facilities (https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=(title:18 section:32 editionrelim) OR (granuleid:USC-prelim-title18-section32)&f=treesort&edition=prelim&num=0&jumpTo=true). That is the law that protects UAS operations and operators from being harassed and threatened. UAS are considered aircraft as per the 2014 NTSB Law Judge ruling in Pirker v. Huerta.

That paperwork is likely NOT for the person doing the threatening. It's for the LEO that responds to the call.

Here is my suggested way to handle this situation.

First, odds are the person is just beating their chest and won't do anything. But don't assume.

Explain to them that you are flying, and need to pay attention to the drone for safety reasons. Explain that you'd be more than happy to discuss this once you land. Tell them you'll finish what you're doing and talk afterwards. Ask them to please back off so they don't get hit if the drone needs to perform an emergency RTH (that usually makes then stop and think about how this is going).

If they insist on bothering you, tell them to call the cops if they're so worried about things (this is where having a copy of 18 USC§32 comes in handy). Tell them that if they show up before you leave, you'll be very happy to talk to them. If you're ready to leave before they show up, tell them to take a picture of you and your license plate. When they take a pic of you, give them a big old smile. Look very happy. It will actually unnerve them a bit.

Do not be confrontational back to them.

When I am in a situation where I am uncomfortable, I actually have a body cam in my truck, and I wear it. I turn it on before I even launch. Some people also use GoPros for this. In a pinch your phone will work too, but it's difficult to fly the drone and record with your phone.

I also carry bear gel, but check your local laws about the legality of that. Here in Colorado, it's 100% legal. I DO NOT suggest that if you're not willing to use it. I also strong advise against carrying, even if you're CCW.

Remain calm, attempt to control the situation. Remember, odds are that you are the most educated person in the situation when it comes to drone laws. Even once the cop shows up.

If you see a weapon, or they are overly aggressive, land immediately and get in your vehicle. Call 911 and tell the operator you are being threatened. If a weapon is involved, mention that as well. The cops will get there ASAP if a weapon is mentioned. Stay on the phone with 911, and give them as much of a description of the person as you can, including describing the firearm.

If it escalates to a discharge of the weapon, you need to also file a report with your local FSDO. Call them and report a violation of 18 USC§32. A great resource for this is from the National Agricultural Aviation Association. They have a checklist for when someone shoots at them (it happens much too often). Download this and keep a copy with you: https://www.agaviation.org/Files/security/agaircraft-shooting-checklist.pdf. This is specifically for Ag pilots, but we should follow the same checklist.

We need to have our heads on a swivel when we fly. There are crazy people out there who fear what they don't understand, and unfortunately, drones top that list right now.

I hope this helps.

Fly safe!

 

[BigAl07]

I've been "doing this" for several years now and I've only had (2) "Upset/Mad" encounters and both were within the last 8 weeks or so.

Incident #1 - Flying for a REA in a very remote area here. The property was off of a Goat Trail that leads off of a very rough road. Our target property was on the LEFT of the Goat Trail and there was a residence on the right side. While flying over the target property (never left target property boundaries) I could hear commotion going on a few hundred yards away. I could hear talking and doors opening/closing etc but nothing to be alarmed about. We complete the project and load back into our "Tactical Subaru" (this cracks me up to say it but it's a long story from SAR missions) and head back down the Goat Path. I notice a "Country Man" standing in the middle of the road just ahead in a very protective/alert stance. I also notice he is very openly displaying (not holstered) his weapon of choice. At this point I simply take my weapon of choice from it's easy access position and merely hold it across my lap with the "noisy end" pointing directly at my driver side car door. As we get closer I wave and smile and roll down my window tryin to appear friendly and non-threatening. He steps to the side as I pull up to him and stop. He is very "inquisitive" about why we are in such an area where most people don't even know exists let alone are crazy enough to venture into. I explain we were hired to do a job for a REA and in the middle of the convo he looks closer and realizes my "protection" is significant and the "hot end" is very precariously positioned as to give me a significant advantage and a strong motivation to not "get crazy". We calmly discussed what we photographed, what we did NOT photograph (his home and "Garden" area), who it was for, and in about 3 minutes we were on our way. I fully realize that the whole "incident" could have turned very bad in a blink of an eye but I feel our calm/friendly demeanor helped bring the Threat Level way down.

Follow-up: Our company vehicle (tactical subaru LOL) is clearly marked with our company name and contact information on all sides. That guy called me later that night to apologize for his actions at the property. I explained I fully understand his being suspicious and I would have as well given those circumstances.

Incident #3: Just a couple of weeks ago we were flying for a REA in a fairly rural but slightly populated area. We were shooting a piece of empty property from an adjacent church parking lot. At one point, while I was shooting the AWAY shots looking back at the target land, our local MediVac Helo came through so I dropped altitude and hovered in place until she was well clear of our area. Little did I know that this was out over someone's property and they were outside looking up at the UAS and VERY uncomfortable with it. We were packing everything up and about to leave when someone from just behind and above the church property shouts in a very angry tone, "Who the Heck are you, why the Heck are you here, and why the (worse than heck) are you taking pictures inside my home?"

My wife quickly got into the car (just in case, protection and phone handy) and I spoke with the mad gentleman in a calm and hopefully nonthreatening tone. I clearly explained we were hired to take aerial pictures of a Real Estate Listing, which property we had taken pictures of, and explained his home, his property, and anything else up there was of no value to me what so ever. I could tell he was getting more mad by the minute so I suggested he call the Sheriff's Dept and ask them to come make a visit. He said, "No you just come up here to my place and we can talk". I quickly realized he wanted to get me onto his property for a Power Exchange and I was NOT about to leave my car, wife, and "item of protection" to walk onto a stranger's private property. I told him, "Feel free to take pictures of me and my car and in fact you can see my business name and phone # so be sure to get them in your picture. If we are going to talk any more about this we can just wait for the Sheriff's Dept to get here and get this whole misunderstanding sorted out, I'll even make the phone call if you would like." For whatever reason (he apparently had something to hide) when I again mentioned having the SD come he piped down and just turned around and walked away. I got in the car and we left. I made a phone call to the SD to let them know just in case there was a call made and how to contact me but by the next day no calls had been placed.

Both of the above incidents would have gone south but both times we were incredibly kind/courteous and worked to defuse anything before it got out of hand. Catch more flies with SUGAR than vinegar any day.

Keep in mind this story isn't about the "Weapon of Choice" and it could have been just as serious with a ball bat, MACE, Beer Bear Spray, nailing hammer or a rock picked up from the ground...you name it. A weapon is a weapon is a weapon!

 

[Vic Moss]

Keep in mind this story isn't about the "Weapon of Choice" and it could have been just as serious with a ball bat, MACE, Beer Spray, nailing hammer or a rock picked up from the ground...you name it. A weapon is a weapon is a weapon!

Do they sell Beer Spray on Amazon? Link? ?

 

[BigAl07]

Do they sell Beer Spray on Amazon? Link? ?

Opps! LOL good catch

 

[sar104]

Do they sell Beer Spray on Amazon? Link? ?

Beer spray will defuse any situation.

Beer Blaster

 

[011111110]

I was in upper Washington the other day. I was there filming 20 acres for a client. I was parked on a public road in the woods by another car. I got set up to fly. As I took off the lady in the car jumps out with a revolver and angrily asks, “what the hell I was doing”! Well that’s a first?. For what ever reason I did not feel threatened. I first looked at the gun, and being a revolver, it was easy to see it lacked ammunition.in the end we were sitting on my tailgate, discussing what she did wrong pulling the gun, and showing her how the drone worked. I got very valuable info from her about the property I question.
Yep, I could have had her arrested. Branding and Threatening a weapon is very serious. A felony if pushed. But in the end, I had a new friend in the area, and valuable info for my client!

I feel like this story is missing some important details. Why was she angry (so angry as to draw a gun on you)? Did you get an explanation? What did you say to defuse the situation? When an angry person is pointing a gun in your general direction, you have to assume it's loaded (and no, you can't tell by looking at it), so what you say or do in those first few seconds is critical. But you glossed over that part and went straight to "in the end we were sitting on my tailgate, discussing".

So what actually happened? You left out all the important parts.

 

[GFields]

An encounter I wouldn't want

 

[RonanCork]

I was in upper Washington the other day. I was there filming 20 acres for a client. I was parked on a public road in the woods by another car. I got set up to fly. As I took off the lady in the car jumps out with a revolver and angrily asks, “what the hell I was doing”! Well that’s a first?. For what ever reason I did not feel threatened. I first looked at the gun, and being a revolver, it was easy to see it lacked ammunition.in the end we were sitting on my tailgate, discussing what she did wrong pulling the gun, and showing her how the drone worked. I got very valuable info from her about the property I question.
Yep, I could have had her arrested. Branding and Threatening a weapon is very serious. A felony if pushed. But in the end, I had a new friend in the area, and valuable info for my client!

Crikey. When I started reading this I really didn't imagine the ending. Fair play out all worked out.