Wednesday, November 30, 2016

The government uses the hammer to stop drone flights at oil pipeling protest

http://motherboard.vice.com/read/the-government-is-using-a-no-fly-zone-to-suppress-journalism-at-standing-rock

"On October 23, the Morton County Sheriff’s Department announced it had shot down a drone after it had approached a police helicopter 'in a threatening manner.' Soon after, it petitioned the FAA for the TFR, which extends until at least Friday (in the past, TFRs have been immediately renewed after they expire). 

The TFR says 'no pilots may operate an aircraft in the areas covered by this Notice to Airmen,' however it carves out an exception for 'response aircraft in support of law enforcement aircraft,' meaning that police aircraft continue to monitor the protesters’ camps.
'In essence, a ‘giant tarp’ has been laid over the site, allowing law enforcement to act with impunity and without any witnesses,' Peter Sachs, a drone law attorney in Connecticut, wrote on his blog earlier this week.
Gutterman of Syracuse University told me the TFR has 'the effect of prior restraint,' an established First Amendment violation in which the government places a restriction on expression before it can take place."

I have seen some of their drone footage and in my opinion they blatantly and consistently violate  FAA rules about flying over people.  They fly, to my mind, in a threatening manner close to the police.  I think the police had every right to shoot at the quadcopter in the video I've seen. 

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