Police called after flying in my own backyard

[Mr. Salty]

F.Y.I. I don't know about the UK but in the US you have the right to face your accuser. When to Cops showed up at my door,(non drone related), I asked who called you, and they had to tell me. I got to know my new neighbors better that day.

They may have told you, but they didn't have to. The right you're referring to applies in court, during a trial, not to a nuisance complaint.

 

[AMann]

Exactly, Caltrans workers are the worst bunch of government hacks...

I agree, but they were a private company doing the work under contract...

 

[dewster]

People call the police for everything citing privacy. They forget that the smart phone they carry is more of an invasion of privacy than a drone flying. Crazy.

 

[drvrbob]

I would have asked them why did they think I was taking video? can I not just fly my drone for the sake of flying it and if I had video I darn sure would not turn it over unless I'm being charged with something and after being instructed by my attorney to do so.

 

[Te Rangitira]

A few weeks ago my new mavic pro ND filters arrived so i thought i would try them out with a quick flight in my backyard. I never flew outside my property fence line and only max alt 25 Metres. One hour later two police arrive and say someone complained about my drone and also his bodycam was filming me. I explained I was allowed to fly in my own yard , not in a No fly zone and by law could go up to 120 M but i only flew at 20M. They wanted to see my footage but i declined. They took my details , also asked me if I was aware a preschool was nearby , so its likely a staff member assumed i was filming kids and called the police. It stressed me out for a day . Police emailed the next day saying I had nothing to worry about.

The person who complained probably has a smartphone - with a camera, and takes photos/videos of drones

 

[Mr. Salty]

The person who complained probably has a smartphone - with a camera, and takes photos/videos of drones

The difference of course being they can't just easily fly their cellphones over other people's fences and backyards. That's where the paranoia comes in.

 

[moonlitnite]

#Mytwocents

Try not to fly when children or school is in nearby Play area
Get some "Lower Noise Props" and Fly high out of your neigborhood
.........cR
.

Agreed, I live on a hill that overlooks my neighboring Elementary School. Needless to say, I'm very careful not to takeoff when youth or in school or after hour events. Yes, I could argue how silly that is compared to putting my 400mm lens on my DSLR, yet for many - PERCEPTIONS are their REALITY. Along that line, I'm also very careful not to do target practice with my paintball gun in the backyard area where people from the school playground might see me.

By the way, some jurisdictions (City, State) have restrictions flying over schools. A few years ago I recall one jurisdictional law only permitting flight between 350 and 400 feet AGL. (of course we know such laws only apply if the PIC takes off or lands within the jurisdictional airspace).

 

[ac0j]

Actually, as long as we're talking about stupid, half of them would be stupider than the median, not the average.

Well since “average” is what you get by blending the number of slightly stupid with the number of chronically stupid people. It is safe to say that exactly half of that average group account for its window lickers.

 

[Chip]

This is my halloween costume again this year. Just wear regular clothes and sit on the fence.

 

[Nosebump]

I would (-and have) shown the police the footage, and with a big smile. I would've explained that my cell phone battery was low, but if he wanted to come into the house he could look at it on the laptop.

It's not against the law to photograph anything, even a school. My experience showing the police the footage has done nothing but generate new drone advocates, and with all of the normal follow-up questions like:

1. How much does it cost
2. Are they hard to fly
3. Where do you get them
4. Etc etc etc

The normal reaction of being friendly is contagious, and you'll usually create a new friend. Get the drone above the trees and let him fly it a little. Then watch his eyes bug out. The only forehead wrinkles that you'll see will be the ones generated by his thoughts, as he tries to figure out how he's going to get one past his wife...

 

[MrCoffee03]

EDIT: Just realized you must be in the UK- its too bad, but Americans don’t speak in metric terms nor do we spell it “metres”. So your laws relating to my post below may be different than mine in the US...

It does sound like the school called the police. Even though it’s legal to take photos nearby schools, and even of a school from the street, teachers do fear the worse and can get really upset about it - (I’m a photographer and a teacher, too) - so don’t take it personally, they are just being protective with good reason. Perhaps you can offer to do a presentation at the school? Just a thought- we had a career day and some pilots and HAM radio guys came to ours. The students loved it. Let the school know who you are and maybe see your footage to show them you are far enough away that the kids are indescribable if you accidentally point it towards them.

Why is everyone so uptight about men and photographers near a school,why is the world so paranoid.

 

[AJupstateNY]

A member of my local department stumbled upon me taking pictures of a church at night, I had
my car parked with the headlights on the building to reduce shadows from trees. We spent about 30 minutes talking about the drone and what it could do.

I also went down to an event the cops were doing this summer and shot some pictures and gave the pictures for them to use for publicity.

While I was there we were discussing the application of drones in law enforcement and how several departments near us in Southern NH were getting Officer Part 107 licensed and had bought drones for peeking around where they could not get to easily.

I told them I would be happy to help them in any way I could should they ever wanted to explore the 107 route .View attachment 51066

I am a Part 107 and retired LEO, and friend is Part 107 NYSP, the Dept just got a Acecore Zoe, FLIR 7 30x camera for is on the job flying, and he gets to keep it with him! I have not seen this Drone yet, but we both have DJI's, me a Zoom and he has a Mavic Pro. We both carry them with us in our Harley's on bike rides. The LEO's around here a really good with understand and working with the drone folks.

 

[mikemoose55]

Why is everyone so uptight about men and photographers near a school,why is the world so paranoid.

It used to be a brave new world but these days it is more like the sky is falling and it is all falling about me world.
We have forgot I think how to survive even the simpliest events. i am old enough to remember things like cars without padded dash boards made from solid metal and even no seat belts.
I sat in my dad's lap while we both drove our family car.
These days when you can't even ride a bike without a helmet, let a child go fishing without adult supervision and you can get your children a bus ride to and from school if you live a half mile from school it is easy to understand the paranoia .

We have for the most part become soft and much less self sufficient, overly protective and dependant on others to alleviat our fears.

On our journney down that slippery slope comes the jitterness of a squirrel collecting a nut in a park. High strung, powerfully aware of all surroundings the typical squirrel is quick to react to retreat to a safety.
But like the squirrel who often times creates more danger to its survival in the act or retreating to safety (check your local roads and streets) we have become way too reactive way too early. A drone is like the alert a squirrel gets when a twig snaps and such off we go.

It is like we are forgetting how to survive. Test it for yourself ask any one say between the age of 18 & 25 what they would do if they had a flat tire on their car. I would guess 9 out of 10 would answer to reinflate the tire with their cell phone.
DRONE + CAMERA + SCHOOL = SQUIRREL LIKE BEHAVIOURS
mikemoose55

 

[Clinton1]

^ very well said Moose. This world has become one giant snowflake

 

[chadCO]

A few weeks ago my new mavic pro ND filters arrived so i thought i would try them out with a quick flight in my backyard. I never flew outside my property fence line and only max alt 25 Metres. One hour later two police arrive and say someone complained about my drone and also his bodycam was filming me. I explained I was allowed to fly in my own yard , not in a No fly zone and by law could go up to 120 M but i only flew at 20M. They wanted to see my footage but i declined. They took my details , also asked me if I was aware a preschool was nearby , so its likely a staff member assumed i was filming kids and called the police. It stressed me out for a day . Police emailed the next day saying I had nothing to worry about.

Sadly it is now necessary for your own safety to take the drone far into the wilderness away from the drooling masses and sheeple in order to fly without being attacked by the ignorant and stupid rabble.
I won't fly if I see even one other person... Just pack it up and drive further away from the mass of ignorance. So far I haven't had a single complaint from the losers.
Long gone are the days when you could reason with a person and expect them to have the intelligence to understand. No point taking the chance when the odds are 10000 to one against you.

 

[Bigbird48]

Moose I disagree about them using the cell phone to inflate the tire. Even if that were possible these kids are to lazy to do it and they would call a service truck. They would not even know how to use a jack and lug wrench to change their own tire

 

[AeroEyez]

So the cops were called on me while flying for hire under Part 107 rules. Here’s my encounter:

I just came to accept that there are people out there who are curious and there are some who are just busy bodies and stick their noses in EVERYTHING, then there’s that guy.

 

[mikemoose55]

So the cops were called on me while flying for hire under Part 107 rules. Here’s my encounter:

I just came to accept that there are people out there who are curious and there are some who are just busy bodies and stick their noses in EVERYTHING, then there’s that guy.

You handeled that very well. The guy definately had a problem with the project and tried pretty hard to spread his ire on you .
He is exactly the type I refer to as always carrying an axe and a grind stone at full RPM just looking for a reason to make sparks.
Great job
PS loved the PD response, my guess is they have answered several complaints from this clown before and are pretty tired of dealing with his pettiness.
mikemoose55

 

[Mr. Salty]

We have forgot I think how to survive even the simpliest events. i am old enough to remember things like cars without padded dash boards made from solid metal and even no seat belts.

I sat in my dad's lap while we both drove our family car.

That sounds swell, but you should also know the vehicle crash fatality rate in the U.S. is now a fifth of what it was in the late 1960s. Things weren’t always better in the old days.

 

[mikemoose55]

That sounds swell, but you should also know the vehicle crash fatality rate in the U.S. is now a fifth of what it was in the late 1960s. Things weren’t always better in the old days.

No argument the point is we are constantly regulated by some supposed higher power for our own good. In the case of automobile improvements it worked but that is not always the case. Moreover when the decision process is taken away from us we become more subjects than individuals. Think of it as governmental cooling such that since we are 98% water soon we may all be snowflakes.
mikemoose55