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posted by LaminatorX on Thursday February 20 2014, @12:20AM   Printer-friendly
from the nothing-to-see-here dept.

girlwhowaspluggedout writes:

"When Pedro Rivera, an on-call photographer for Hartford, CT's WFSB-TV, used his drone to photograph the scene of a fatal car crash, he probably did not expect to be detained by the local police and be forced to ground his drone and leave the area. What he certainly did not expect was being suspended by his employer without pay for a week after the head of the department's major crimes division contacted WFSB-TV, requesting that disciplinary action be taken against him.

Rivera has now filed a federal lawsuit against Hartford's police department for violating his First and Fourth Amendment rights. The lawsuit seeks more than just damages it asks the court to declare that Rivera did not break any laws by operating the drone.

Shortly after the incident, Hartford police told the media that it was concerned with 'the safety of the officers and the privacy of the victim.' But, as Rivera told the Professional Society of Drone Journalists, 'If privacy is a concern ... it was not with me. It was with all the local news stations that were on the sidewalks with 'long lenses' and had shots so tight, that you could see inside the crash vehicle.' The photo he has provided and the GPS coordinates that are embedded in its EXIF data show what his drone was capable of photographing 150 feet from the accident site.

As Rivera succinctly describes it, 'What happened to me falls in the category of the war on cameras by the police. Whenever the police are videotaped, they try to detain people and confiscate the camera.' It's time to add one more marker to the War on Cameras Map'."

 
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  • (Score: 5, Informative) by wjwlsn on Thursday February 20 2014, @12:46AM

    by wjwlsn (171) on Thursday February 20 2014, @12:46AM (#3019) Homepage Journal

    In can buy a small quadcopter with camera for about $50. It weighs just a few ounces, and would be a minimal risk even if it fell out of the sky and hit your head. If I fly it for fun, then no big deal. However, if you pay me $10 to fly over your house and get video showing the condition of your roof, the FAA could conceivably charge me with a crime. Why? Because I flew it for commercial purposes... that, apparently, is what the FAA uses to determine "legality" with respect to "drones" (not safety).

    Stupid FAA. Stupid "laws".

    --
    I am a traveler of both time and space. Duh.
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  • (Score: 4, Interesting) by combatserver on Thursday February 20 2014, @01:15AM

    by combatserver (38) on Thursday February 20 2014, @01:15AM (#3032)

    It's not what, but who...

    "I can buy a small quadcopter with camera for about $50..."

    For that matter, how would they classify a tethered-ballon with a camera attached and reeled out from up-wind? Or a kite? What's next, COPS punching people in the face for wearing GoogleGlass?

    --
    I hope I can change this later...
    • (Score: 1) by wjwlsn on Thursday February 20 2014, @02:05AM

      by wjwlsn (171) on Thursday February 20 2014, @02:05AM (#3066) Homepage Journal

      I doubt that a balloon or kite would concern them quite as much. "Drones" are a hot-button issue right now, though. People always ask me about spying when I'm flying my quad... what, like I have nothing better to do than spy on your boring-ass life?

      Also... I don't think you'll have to wait for the cops to start punching Glass wearers in the face. The general public will probably get to that way before then.

      --
      I am a traveler of both time and space. Duh.
      • (Score: 2) by combatserver on Thursday February 20 2014, @02:12AM

        by combatserver (38) on Thursday February 20 2014, @02:12AM (#3070)

        "by wjwlsn (171)"

        Have we met before? You seem familiar--perhaps this is you?

        http://www.uoguide.com/JWilson [uoguide.com]

        (All in jest, relax.)

        --
        I hope I can change this later...
        • (Score: 1) by wjwlsn on Thursday February 20 2014, @02:24AM

          by wjwlsn (171) on Thursday February 20 2014, @02:24AM (#3077) Homepage Journal

          Ha!

          --
          I am a traveler of both time and space. Duh.
    • (Score: 1) by EvilJim on Thursday February 20 2014, @10:55PM

      by EvilJim (2501) on Thursday February 20 2014, @10:55PM (#3833) Journal

      they'll let the ground punch them in the face after they've removed the ability for the person to break their fall by putting their arms out. concrete is much more effective than a fist. standard procedure apparently.

  • (Score: 5, Informative) by hemocyanin on Thursday February 20 2014, @01:31AM

    by hemocyanin (186) on Thursday February 20 2014, @01:31AM (#3042) Journal

    Actually, that "commercial purposes" bit isn't really a law yet:

    Brendan Schulman, a New York attorney who specializes in drone laws, said there is no federal regulation concerning the operation of drones for commercial use. The FAA's prohibition of commercial drones is based on a policy statement, not an official federal regulation.

    This from the second linked article in TFS: http://articles.courant.com/2014-02-18/community/h c-hartford-drone-lawsuit-0219-20140218_1_drone-vid eo-federal-lawsuit-small-drones [courant.com]

    Secondly, from one of the articles in TFS -- Rivera was on his day off not being paid and has never been paid for movies or photos taken with his drone. It sounds pretty non-commercial.

    • (Score: 5, Informative) by wjwlsn on Thursday February 20 2014, @01:38AM

      by wjwlsn (171) on Thursday February 20 2014, @01:38AM (#3048) Homepage Journal

      Exactly. Not a law or regulation, but an agency policy. That hasn't stopped the FAA from charging people with crimes and fining them for large sums of money, however. http://www.personal-drones.net/2013/10/ [personal-drones.net]

      --
      I am a traveler of both time and space. Duh.
      • (Score: 3, Insightful) by hemocyanin on Thursday February 20 2014, @01:54AM

        by hemocyanin (186) on Thursday February 20 2014, @01:54AM (#3061) Journal

        That's just nuts. To be charged with a crime for doing something there is no law against .... that's scary when you really think about it.

    • (Score: 3, Interesting) by frojack on Thursday February 20 2014, @02:47AM

      by frojack (1554) on Thursday February 20 2014, @02:47AM (#3090) Journal

      When the FAA has blanket authority to regulate aircraft, it makes little difference if it was a policy or a regulation.

      They have regulations that give them the authority to impose closures air-space to any class of aircraft for any reason, at any time. Those regulations were approved by congress. So calling it a policy is making a distinction without a difference.

      --
      No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
      • (Score: 5, Informative) by wjwlsn on Thursday February 20 2014, @05:22AM

        by wjwlsn (171) on Thursday February 20 2014, @05:22AM (#3200) Homepage Journal
        Actually, whether it is a policy or a regulation does make a difference.

        ... because the policy was established without undergoing the requisite administrative rule-making process, it continues to stand on uncertain legal ground. Despite this, the agency gives the impression that the policy is mandatory by sending cease-and-desist letter to aerial filmography companies. It also states on its Web site that people are not allowed to fly UAVs for commercial purposes. Nonetheless, according to the FAA, the administration "currently do[es] not have regulatory standards for commercial operations of UAS," thereby admitting they can't enforce their 2007 notice.

        http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/drone-pi lot-challenges-faa-commercial-flying-ban/ [scientificamerican.com]

        --
        I am a traveler of both time and space. Duh.
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 13 2014, @11:16AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 13 2014, @11:16AM (#92721)

      j9W6XD atjeficsrsbd [atjeficsrsbd.com], [url=http://jcdhjgrasstp.com/]jcdhjgrasstp[/url], [link=http://kktbxvczhtgq.com/]kktbxvczhtgq[/link], http://wwsvxczrbegl.com/ [wwsvxczrbegl.com]

  • (Score: 2, Interesting) by CIO on Thursday February 20 2014, @09:03AM

    by CIO (2269) on Thursday February 20 2014, @09:03AM (#3275)

    Dude, it's an accident scene. There is a very, very good chance that they will need to fly somebody out in a helicopter. Maybe not *this* accident, but it is pretty common. If a helicopter tries to land there and hits your small quadcopter, there is a very good chance that it will crash.

    I am not in favor of the lawless nature of the regulations around these little drones and agree that a proper legal framework needs to be set up to prevent arbitrary punishment. But you cannot deny that in this case the reporter took an unconscionable risk that endangered lives and his employer's reputation. If I were his editor, I sure as hell would have suspended him if the police called me and told me this.

    • (Score: 2) by girlwhowaspluggedout on Thursday February 20 2014, @12:30PM

      by girlwhowaspluggedout (1223) on Thursday February 20 2014, @12:30PM (#3381)

      What drones share in common with other modern-day ubiquitous camera systems is their effect on privacy. Drones are unique in that they are also a "physical" threat, as you point out. But in this specific case, since Rivera claims that his drone only came within 150 feet of the accident scene, it seems that caring for the public's safety wasn't really what Hartford PD had in mind when it detained him.

      What's more, Rivera flew the drone on his own personal, unpaid time.

      --
      Soylent is the best disinfectant.
    • (Score: 1) by wjwlsn on Thursday February 20 2014, @01:06PM

      by wjwlsn (171) on Thursday February 20 2014, @01:06PM (#3398) Homepage Journal

      Did you look at the picture and GPS position map? He was well enough away for safety. Plus, any responsible drone operator would immediately ground the vehicle if full-size traffic was close by. Why assume that this guy wouldn't?

      --
      I am a traveler of both time and space. Duh.