Police line up to use drones on patrol after Houston secret test

[texastoast]

The Federal Aviation Administration has been flooded with requests from police departments throughout the United States to use drones to fly on patrol, since a secret test of the technology was captured in Houston.

Blogs and radio talk shows from around the globe have focused their attention on the Houston test this week, saturating the KPRC Local 2 newsroom with e-mails about the controversy.

. . .

The investigative team from KPRC-TV, owned by Post Newsweek Stations (A Washington Post company), had camera crews hidden in bushes, hidden in cars and neighboring properties, and a news helicopter was hidden nearby to jump into action when police launched a drone test. The Houston Police Department invited law enforcement personnel and other dignitaries from all over Texas but the invitation was marked, "No Media Allowed."

Full article at link

http://www.examiner.com/page-one-in-houston/police-line-up-to-use-drones-on-patrol-after-houston-secret-test

[sonias]

1. One nation under surveillance...

Why isn't the tea party up in arms over this? They have to believe that Obama is checking out for their guns - right?

Constitutional law professors and legal observers are also carefully watching the police drone debate. South Texas College of Law professor Rocky Rhodes, who specializes in constitutional law, reacted to the test, saying,

"We see that some of these technologies that are being used in the aftermath of 9/11, that we thought were necessary to protect our security in that time, are now being used to diminish privacy in other contexts, and that is extremely worrisome."

Who wants to bet that we'll be hearing that one of these drones inappropriately videotaped someone's junk? Just saying.

:shrug: