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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: 3, Interesting) by Tork on Monday July 06 2015, @03:12PM

    by Tork (3914) Subscriber Badge on Monday July 06 2015, @03:12PM (#205654)
    I've said it before, we're going to hear a bunch of stories about how great drones are just before the gov't start using them to keep an eye on us.
    --
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  • (Score: 2) by morgauxo on Monday July 06 2015, @03:21PM

    by morgauxo (2082) on Monday July 06 2015, @03:21PM (#205658)

    Police or other government agencies actively looking for murderers, rapists, robbers, etc... Good
    Police or other government agencies actively looking into citizens personal lives without a good reason (see above).... Bad

    Police or other government agencies with a drone actively looking into citizens personal lives without a good reason .... Bad
    Police or other government agencies with a drone actively looking for murderers, rapists, robbers, etc... Also bad????

    WTF?

    What we have here is just another "...with a" scenario. Supposedly reasonable freedom and privacy loving people hate it when the government passes a bunch of "... with a ..." laws such as all the "... with a computer" BS but then turns around and does the same thing in reverse "... with a drone"?

    • (Score: 2) by Anal Pumpernickel on Tuesday July 07 2015, @02:07AM

      by Anal Pumpernickel (776) on Tuesday July 07 2015, @02:07AM (#205955)

      That's because the situation can completely change depending on the technology. The reason people don't want the drones is because they'll inevitably be abused, and they are cost-effective ways of performing widespread surveillance (and also recording, which means faulty human memories aren't involved).