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posted by martyb on Monday July 06 2015, @01:36PM   Printer-friendly
from the up-in-the-air-about-this-one dept.

A Wisconsin robbery and auto theft suspect was captured by police thanks to a borrowed drone on May 31, according to court papers filed yesterday in Middleton, Wisconsin. The Wisconsin State Journal reports that Marquis Phiffer, 21, stole a car and robbed a convenience store in Middleton, Wisconsin on May 31.

After allegedly stealing a car that had been left running outside a coffee shop and robbing the store at a BP gas station (he declared he had a gun, but the clerk never saw one), Phiffer was pursued by police. A chase that reached speeds of up to 70mph ended when Phiffer crashed into a parked car. He abandoned the car and ran into a marsh near Tiedemann's Pond, just a few blocks from Middleton's National Mustard Museum.

The Middleton Fire Department lent the police a rubber raft and a camera-equipped DJI Phantom quadrocopter drone used in search and rescue operations to locate Phiffer. He was hiding in the water, and when the police reached him "his shoes were floating away from him," along with a "large wad of cash," Wisconsin State Journal's Ed Trevelen reported. More cash and a hypodermic needle were found in his pocket.

Seems like the same thing as calling in a chopper, but a lot less expensive. Anyone know what the cost differential is?


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  • (Score: 2) by MrGuy on Monday July 06 2015, @03:44PM

    by MrGuy (1007) on Monday July 06 2015, @03:44PM (#205674)

    it was determined that the owner of the drone also managed to capture some footage of the police involved in the pursuit, which means he was engaged in filming he police. He was immediately had his drone and footage confiscated. He currently faces a fine of up to $1,000 and 30 days in jail for interfering with a police investigation.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 06 2015, @05:33PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 06 2015, @05:33PM (#205745)

    Wait, are you serious or joking? Despite laws against filming the police being struck down as unconstitutional, there are still plenty of places that illegally enforce them, and too few people realize that "enforcement" of unconstitutional laws means the people 'arrested' under them are victims of kidnapping and illegal confinement, and can thus file lawsuits against the perpetrators.

  • (Score: 2) by gidds on Wednesday July 08 2015, @12:47PM

    by gidds (589) on Wednesday July 08 2015, @12:47PM (#206435)

    (Cool, I get to use my favourite phrase: )

    "Ah, but that's different..."

    Yay for selective enforcement!

    --
    [sig redacted]