http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/16/us-usa-drones-california-idUSKBN0HB2NC20140916
"The LAPD says the newly acquired Draganflyer
X6 pilotless choppers, equipped to carry video cameras and night-vision
lenses, are intended for SWAT-team use against armed suspects who may be
barricaded alone or with hostages.
But
echoing objections aired in Seattle, civil libertarians in California's
largest city say law enforcement use of airborne robots raises
questions about privacy rights, the limits of government powers to snoop
on its citizens and the militarization of police agencies.
Although
police in both cities have said the drones would never carry weapons,
the deployment of pilotless aircraft has drawn associations with covert
U.S. missile strikes in places such as Pakistan and Yemen.
Seattle
police originally purchased the drones in 2010 with an $80,000 federal
grant, but a plan to deploy them to search for missing persons and
fugitives and to assist in certain criminal investigations was scrapped
last year in the face of community opposition."
I don't have any objection to the police using such technology, so long as they only use it for severe situations, like a hostage standoff or something.
