A Criminal Gang Used a Drone Swarm To Obstruct an FBI Hostage Raid

[anotherlab]

From Defense One:

DENVER, Colorado — Last winter, on the outskirts of a large U.S.city, an FBI hostage rescue team set up an elevated observation post to assess an unfolding situation. Soon they heard the buzz of small drones — and then the tiny aircraft were all around them, swooping past in a series of “high-speed low passes at the agents in the observation post to flush them,” the head of the agency’s operational technology law unit told attendees of the AUVSIXponential conference here. Result: “We were then blind,” said Joe Mazel, meaning the group lost situational awareness of the target. “It definitely presented some challenges.”....

The rest of the article is on the Defense One site.

 

[N017RW]

Well, I'm typically not one to discount such LE claims and I wasn't there or have knowledge as to why this would pose a long term issue.

I mean how long could the batteries last?

And it would seem there was knowledge of their presence so how effective was the operation to begin with?

Edit= typo fix

 

[Nightwolf]

Soooooo many holes in this story. Sounds like fabricated propaganda.

 

[RunningWithScissors]

To quote the article...

The incident remains “law enforcement-sensitive,” Mazel said Wednesday, declining to say just where or when it took place.

... or IF it actually took place.

...so it will be the Wild West in America’s skies a while longer.

Well, yippee ki yay.

 

[Joker2415]

Reading the end of that article makes me laugh.....

Even though way way different(in the U.S.), kind of reminds me of "gun debate" . Ok..."register, restrict, outlaw, etc....."

HELLO!!! Criminals don't care about those things!! If there is a will there's a way. Sure, I'll bet some criminals are using them, but not much they are going to do to stop it, shy of "zapping them down".

I call Propaganda.....If the case is so "sensitive" then why even comment on any of it at the moment.

And I am a huge believer in privacy, but they aren't going to stop criminals by making the honest guy do more.

 

[Meta4]

Soooooo many holes in this story. Sounds like fabricated propaganda.

Like .. Some criminal organizations have begun to use drones as part of witness intimidation schemes: they continuously surveil police departments and precincts in order to see “who is going in and out of the facility and who might be co-operating with police.
Because it's easier to have a drone permanently on station outside the police station than it would be to sit in a car down the street with a pair of binoculars?

 

[Joker2415]

Like .. Some criminal organizations have begun to use drones as part of witness intimidation schemes: they continuously surveil police departments and precincts in order to see “who is going in and out of the facility and who might be co-operating with police.
Because it's easier to have a drone permanently on station outside the police station than it would be to sit in a car down the street with a pair of binoculars?

Yes...That part is funny too..... And I doubt that happens all that often. Someone would still have to change batteries. A parked car with a small camera recording, a camera in a building or tree, would probably be way less time consuming and would only have to check it every couple of days.......I'm not a criminal and I could up with more efficient ways than a noticeable drone hovering!

Now, the part about criminals possibly using them to check around buildings or homes as a tool before theft? I can buy that..... That would also draw attention and probably not all that common. Still not going to stop it.

 

[flockshot]

If this were true, and I do question that it is, the news would be all over it. I mean, the FBI vs. Drones? It don't get any better than that if you are in the news business.

EDIT; I STAND CORRECTED. JUST SAW THE NEWS

 

[RunningWithScissors]

Because it's easier to have a drone permanently on station outside the police station than it would be to sit in a car down the street with a pair of binoculars?

Yeah, but, what's cooler than sitting in a car with a pair of binoculars scoping things out? Hey, I gotta go. My mom is calling me.

 

[Sagebrush]

My retired LEO brain is having a hard time believing this tale.

SB

 

[Dwilliams35]

Ain’t buying it...

 

[GMack]

A "swarm" of drones? Really? Intel's drone swarm out that day?

Something smells fishy if a bunch of drones showed up with multiple banditos at the controls of each drone in "the swarm." Sounds like someone needed a concocted excuse for a "failed for whatever reason" mission to keep the crowd entertained, perhaps the biggest fish or lie story of that day's event.

"....and later that same day, Sasquatch climbed up into our elevated observation post and carried away our badges and guns too."