shooting down drones hovering above your property?

Discussion in 'West Mall' started by zork, Jul 29, 2015.

  1. zork

    zork 2,500+ Posts

    Should you be able to shoot down a drone hovering above your property? This man is in jail or arrested for doing it recently.

    http://www.wdrb.com/story/29650818/...or-shooting-down-drone-cites-right-to-privacy

    Apparently the drone was seen hovering above a pool where a minor lays out. Would that change your mind if you had a daughter who was using the pool and a drone with a camera was hovering about? What are the peeping Tom rules for items like this? There should be a way to protect your privacy to some extent from these things.

    Or should you have no expectation of privacy behind your privacy fence since these things can fly over them and cameras are to be expected to be everywhere these days?(even up your skirt according to one judge) Should it be ruled by municipality, state, federal rules?

    What do you think?
     
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    Last edited: Jul 29, 2015
  2. Mr. Deez

    Mr. Deez Beer Prophet

    Here's a brief discussion of Texas drone law (under the Texas Privacy Act). It's pretty questionable whether you'd be allowed to shoot down a drone. However, the drone owner could be charged with a crime and sued, though neither are particularly strong. The crime can range from a Class B to Class C misdemeanor depending on the facts. The lawsuit allows you to get statutory damages of $5K or $10k depending on whether or not the defendant discloses, distributes, or displays the images somewhere plus attorney's fees. That's not a big kick in the balls, but if you can prove malice (specific intent to cause substantial injury or harm - tough to prove), you can get actual damages (meaning financial losses, pain and suffering, mental anguish, etc.).
     
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  3. mb227

    mb227 de Plorable

    I've got no qualms with the destruction of the pervert's property...but open discharge of a weapon in a neighborhood is going to be problematic pretty much everywhere, no matter how legal the weapon itself might be.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  4. Crockett

    Crockett 5,000+ Posts

    I think there should be laws and ordinances to protect privacy. There should be some middle ground between using your shotgun and allowing pervs to use a drone to ogle your 16-year-old daughter. Think this would be a great area for state law, but municipalities can perhaps move more quickly.
     
    • Like Like x 2
  5. majorwhiteapples

    majorwhiteapples 5,000+ Posts

    Power Sprayer!!!!
     
    • Like Like x 3
  6. zork

    zork 2,500+ Posts

    cool idea. I was just sprinkling my yard with the super shot 1000' super water spray jet, officer.
     
  7. Dionysus

    Dionysus Idoit Admin

    Sounds like trespassing to me.

    Somebody is going to make a million dollars with some kind of drone killer device. Maybe something that shoots a net, wraps the thing up, and brings it to the ground. It should be available on Amazon any day now.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  8. Horns11

    Horns11 10,000+ Posts

    "They asked me, 'Are you the S-O-B that shot my drone?' and I said, 'Yes I am,'" he said. "I had my 40mm Glock on me and they started toward me and I told them, 'If you cross my sidewalk, there's gonna be another shooting.'"

    He sounds very level-headed.
     
  9. mb227

    mb227 de Plorable

    what sort of fine-tuning does your prototype still require and do you have an anticipated price-point?
     
  10. Dionysus

    Dionysus Idoit Admin

    Field testing is in full swing now.

    $49.95 for the basic model.
    DroneKillerPro will likely retail at $99.95 (free shipping!).
     
  11. Crockett

    Crockett 5,000+ Posts

    So I wonder how it would respond to a stream of wasp spray?
     
  12. rickysrun

    rickysrun 2,500+ Posts

    Shoot the ******. Blow it into a million pieces. Collect the pieces and then mail them a few pieces at a time to the owner for eternity.
     
  13. Clean

    Clean 5,000+ Posts

    Drones are becoming a big problem. But shooting them down is dangerous.

    Drones are in the Wild West stage of regulation infancy. A guy flew one all over the Univ. of Virginia, filming as he went. He'd been hired to do so and was being paid by UVA. The FAA fined him $10,000 because if you use a drone commercially you're suppose to have FAA permission. He didn't. He sued and a judge threw out the FAA fine and basically said that the FAA has no right to regulate "model aircraft".

    Sales of drones are burgeoning. Recently in California, there were so many amateur drones flying over a wildfire that emergency aircraft were afraid to get close to the fire to do their job. They've been spotted close to airports, which could present a threat to commercial air traffic, and I believe one even landed on the White House lawn.

    You know it won't be long before some nutjob weaponizes a civilian drone. One man has already been arrested for attempting to do just that. This is one area where I'm for strict government regulation.
     
    • Like Like x 2
  14. Driver 8

    Driver 8 Amor Fati

    Agreed. I think the drones could be fun to play with and very useful for commercial photo & video work, but stay away from personal property and areas where it could pose a danger.
     
  15. accuratehorn

    accuratehorn 10,000+ Posts

    I believe I read the only regulations about drones so far is they can't be within so many feet of aircraft. I also read you may own your property, but you don't own the air over your property.
    It is funny that you anti-government zealots are calling for regulations for drones, because all regulations were the response to some problem or victim's pleas. Maybe you could think about why there are government regulations and attempt to quit painting with such a broad brush when criticizing them.
     
  16. Clean

    Clean 5,000+ Posts

    Government regulations have their place. But, they tend to go way too far, way too often. I don't need them to dictate how many ounces my soft drink should be or how much Section 8 housing should be built in my neighborhood. But, when it comes to protecting personal privacy and security the government certainly has a role.
     
    Last edited: Aug 4, 2015
  17. Seattle Husker

    Seattle Husker 10,000+ Posts

    The update on this story is the drone owner has data that shows it was flying at 250ft and NOT hovering. Even if it were hovering, I'm having trouble understanding how this would be different from someone scaling a tree with binoculars. Is the expectation of complete and total privacy in your backyard a legal right?
     
  18. majorwhiteapples

    majorwhiteapples 5,000+ Posts

    Neighborhood Watch will turn into Power Sprayer Watch!!!!! Everybody takes their turn patrolling the neighborhood with portable Power Sprayers!!!!
     
    • Like Like x 1
  19. mb227

    mb227 de Plorable

    Makes me wonder out loud about the fine for shooting bottle rockets...could be a lot of fun to take aim with fireworks out of season :smokin:

    And yes...I AM one of those people that has some out of season...sometimes just left over and other times because I happened to have stopped at a warehouse in a State where they are legal for sale all year round...
     
  20. Clean

    Clean 5,000+ Posts

    So he hit a flying target at 250 ft. with a shotgun?!?! Nice shootin'.
     
    • Like Like x 1
  21. ProdigalHorn

    ProdigalHorn 10,000+ Posts

    Interesting if there's the potential for signal-blocking tech for your backyard, and if that would be safe enough to employ. Something to either disable any remote-wired devices or isolate and block any video or audio feed generated by the drone.
     
  22. mb227

    mb227 de Plorable

    Of course, the other question is whether it was really at 250 at the time it was shot down or whether he is trying to bluff people by using max height data...it certainly would not the first time a pervert tried to manipulate the story and data to fit their narrative.
     
  23. Crockett

    Crockett 5,000+ Posts

    I think there are more consequences for shooting a person than shooting a drone, but a guy with binoculars looking at teen-age girls from a tree should be wary when Dad comes out with a shotgun. Just because it's not legal to shoot doesn't mean he won't. It's also not out of the question law enforcement/ grand juries/ courts would be pretty sympathetic with a perv assassin.
     
  24. UTChE96

    UTChE96 2,500+ Posts

    No problem with destroying a drone on your property but I do have a problem with reckless discharge of a firearm. If he sprayed it down with a water hose, I would have completely fine with that.
     
  25. zork

    zork 2,500+ Posts

  26. Seattle Husker

    Seattle Husker 10,000+ Posts

    Saner heads prevailed:
     
    • Like Like x 2
  27. zork

    zork 2,500+ Posts

    Last edited: Oct 27, 2015
  28. Hollandtx

    Hollandtx 250+ Posts

    This may be a stupid question, as I am no expert on drones. On an episode of Shark Tank that aired recently, the Sharks went all in on a drone that hovers, and also inverts and can fly like a plane at speeds up to 60 mph. They have a prototype that will allow a smaller version to attach to an Iphone (which makes sense as all the inner components such as camera, video, gps, etc. are already included)
    Here is my stupid question: with a price point of around $300 for the small version, how soon will it be before someone "driving" a drone that can dive and swoop at 60 mph, screws up and kills someone? Or destroys property?
    It seems to me that there would be a learning curve to operating one of these things, much like driving a car. Is there any talk of restricting who can buy or operate one of these things, or am I being the cranky "get off my lawn" person?
     
  29. Clean

    Clean 5,000+ Posts

    Also, how long before terrorists weaponize them and use them in an attack? It's gonna happen.
     
  30. accuratehorn

    accuratehorn 10,000+ Posts

    Don't forget the drone, piloted by a UT student, which hovered over the upper deck of DKR, I believe it was the first game of last season. Scary possibilities with these things.
     

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