False accusations of voyeurism, from a cop caught shinning my drone with laser !

[ftttu]

<-----Retired Texas LEO

Here in Texas, and I'm sure most everywhere else in the US, an officer can legally detain you with reasonable suspicion and not just probable cause. Probable cause is the level a LEO needs to make an arrest where you get a ticket, a summons to appear or a full custody ride to jail.

Also, here in Texas(unknown what goes on up north) you commit an offense if you intentionally give a false or fictitious name, residence address or date of birth to a LEO who has legally arrested or detained you.

Oh, if you think you've been wronged, at least complain to the officer's supervisor. If not happy there, make an internal affairs complaint. Since you were arrested, the IA complaint is appropriate.

 

[Jussaguy]

A Police officer can ask for ID any time they choose. YOU don't have to oblige him, but he can ask. It's up to the officer how far he wants to take it from there. I'm sure you did call them manure, you have called me that and you don't even know me. There is a big difference between asking someone for their ID, and asking someone to search their car. I would explan this to you but I'm sure it's above your pay grade
As for the op.. SUE THEM.. Sorry but I don't believe a word of this. But if it's true, sue the dept.. Enjoy your money.. If some cop is dumb enough to shine a laser at a drone, you track them down to their home, and they arrest you, SUE them. I'm calling BS on this story.. But in 28 years of being a cop I have seen some dumb cops along the way so who knows..

I am sorry. I just realized, I read your comment wrong. You said that they can ask anyone which of course is true.

I just read it wrong.

 

[SoundByte]

Those are not rules, else they would be enforceable they are advises, and they are aimed obviously for starter pilots. Also consider the risks of a crash in a populated area such as here, if we calculate the weight of the aircraft, the fall range, and potential energy on impact, as well as the chances of an actual mechanical failure and then the chance to hit a car or person, the damage on a roof would be really low, and probably none, if really unlucky a car could get hit(as you can see there s not many cars in that area), would probably bounce off the roof and scratch the paint, maybe making a small bumb, and the chances to impact a human, are 0 because there was nobody in the street, so the risk of damage are actually way lower then if it was an actual full sized aircraft...

Anyway this thread was not about flying over populated area(and its not like im an idiot who fly over crowds or places with risks of big damage to persons or property), its about informing peoples that this did happen, and to be careful (most of us fly in city areas). Please stop trying to change the focus by saying we should only be allowed to fly over trees, mountains and lakes... You might as well start to say that it was justified to shoot a drone with a laser, and make stuff up to cover this fact, while you guys are at it ...

You are basically saying "The law shouldn't apply to me, because...etc...etc...etc.
If you were flying without a Special Flight Operation Certificate, or under the exemption rules, then you are flying illegally, period. Since you cannot fly at night under the exemption, we can rule that out.
You really need to educate yourself if you plan on being taken seriously.



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[isopro]

You are basically saying "The law shouldn't apply to me, because...etc...etc...etc.
If you were flying without a Special Flight Operation Certificate, or under the exemption rules, then you are flying illegally, period. Since you cannot fly at night under the exemption, we can rule that out.
You really need to educate yourself if you plan on being taken seriously.



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You dont know what you are talking about, this was NOT a SPECIAL FLIGHT(commercial), this was a recreational flight, and you DO NOT need an exemption or certificate to do a recreational model aircraft flight, you are the one who should educate yourself before posting such ridiculous misinformation on forums. Edit : let me explain you basic canadian law concerning drones, UAV and model aircrafts, they are considered 2 different things, Drones and UAV are unmanned aerial vehicules that are used for commercial purpose (for profit), and model aircraft are Unmanned Aerial Vehicules that are used for recreational purpose(no profit)... This is a model aircraft and not a drone or uav, so no permission is needed, no exemption apply, it was a 100% legal flight in canada with a 100% airworthy aircraft, done by a pilot with over 15 years experience with model aircrafts...in canadian law model aircrafts are considered aircrafts when in the air "unmanned aircrafts to be exact" so shinning a laser at them is illegal, shooting them with a gun or doing anything intended to damage them or destroy them is highly illegal, etc...But again flying them is perfectly legal, day and night, over forest and city, etc.


Legal requirements
In Canada, you must:

• follow the rules in the Canadian Aviation Regulations:
  • section 602.41 – Unmanned air vehicles
  • section 602.45 – Model aircraft

 

[SoundByte]

Not saying the officer did nothing wrong, he did. He was pointing a LASER into the air without regard for air traffic & he uttered threats. However, that being said, there is no evidence to support your accusations. Somebody pointed a LASER at the drone and that's the only thing the evidence supports. However on the other hand you admitted to resisting arrest and you got away lucky on that charge. The voyeurism & mischief charges weren't dropped because you had video of the LASER. They were dropped because there was no evidence supporting the charges. If you had been charged with contravention of the CARs, I think the charges would stick. I think you should just lick your wounds and call this a learning experience. You are not the first guy that's ever been wronged by an over zealous police.


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[m0j0]

The
“Do’s and don’ts” for flying your drone" are not law, they are basic advises by transport canada and have no force of law...

As much as I disagree with your choices I agree with you. There are differences between recommendations and laws. One is a suggestion. The other is a commandment. One is supported by statutory authority and definites that are enforced by police officers. The others are not enforceable. One has elements to the crime like... the other doesn't.

 

[logs]

The amount of people in this thread that say they wouldn't confront the laser shooter or it's not worth the risk is plain SAD and PATHETIC. I am a professional pilot and I've been hit by a laser more than once and let me tell you it is a serious thing. I would 100% go to where the person was and confront them. You don't know, next time they may think twice and might actually save some lives.

 

[isopro]

Not saying the officer did nothing wrong, he did. He was pointing a LASER into the air without regard for air traffic & he uttered threats. However, that being said, there is no evidence to support your accusations. Somebody pointed a LASER at the drone and that's the only thing the evidence supports. However on the other hand you admitted to resisting arrest and you got away lucky on that charge. The voyeurism & mischief charges weren't dropped because you had video of the LASER. They were dropped because there was no evidence supporting the charges. If you had been charged with contravention of the CARs, I think the charges would stick. I think you should just lick your wounds and call this a learning experience. You are not the first guy that's ever been wronged by an over zealous police.


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Well the police officer claimed in front of two witness that he was the one with the laser in two different sentences, he lives in that house, two witnesses+me saw him with it in his hands, AND, there is other supporting evidences, that are even stronger then that, and i will not disclose or publish them until im sure what i will do with this. Also running away to get arrested in a safer area (such as in front of the police station on camera), is not resisting arrest because i had reasonable doubt to believe i would be hurt or even kill by those officers in that dark place, considering the threats and intimidation and the fact that i caught him doing something illegal, and I believe this is a lawful excuse(but that will be decided by a judge), also (he threatened that he would shoot at me if we were in the forest, probably speaking of the drone) but at that moment i was so scared that i was not sure he was speaking about me or the aircraft...
All i wanted to do was warn a kid of the dangers of shooting those high powered lasers in the air, and i get obvious false accusations on me. Trust me i've more then enough evidence if needed, but i would prefer a friendly settlement because i can understand both sides and this is a nice town, the peoples are nice, everyone make bad decisions in life, and i forgive easily... I truly believe running away was the best option and saved my evidences, and made me get arrested in a more suitable location, because while they were busy laughing at me for getting caught running, or they would be busy searching for me while i make my way to get arrested somewhere safe, it also acted as a diversion, making them forget to search the car, look for other recording devices, etc. ...

I bet this cop is a nice guy doing is job well, my opinion is that he saw my drone and wanted to troll with me using is laser(and it is not that bad after all, because no victim was caused), and he acted this way because he got shocked of the car coming to his own house, with 3 guys in it, confronting him, witch i can also understand, basically its a huge misunderstanding, and some minor offenses...
I know i should not of went there to investigate, its not my job, but my intents were good, and as for the running part, i was so scared, i still barely remember the part from when i started running until when i was in the cell...

But it was obvious he knew who i was, if he would of just said, ok man, good night !... I would of never knew or have evidence of who he really was, i would of never cared of other evidences against him, witch i do have now, and i would of never even knew he was a police officer, i would of also never cared to share this, since being shot with a laser is not that special, and the reason i was going there in the first place was to prevent some kid using a laser charges and fines, by nicely warning him... I can understand is side of the story, but it look like they cannot understand why i lost it and ran away...

The real questions are :
Was there a victim in this situation on both sides ?
What are the damages caused ?
Can the damages be repaired and the situation settled ?
Did my flying caused any victims ?
Did him shooting me with a laser caused any victims ?
Did me asking him if he was the one shooting with the laser caused a victim ?
Did him claiming i was a voyeur caused a victim ?
Did him pressing charges against me for voyeurism caused a victim ?
Did me running caused any victim ?
What are the extend of the damages suffered by the victim ?
Can the damages be repaired and if yes how ?

 

[N017RW]

I believe your intentions were genuine and benevolent.

Having said that... no good deed goes unpunished.

 

[isopro]

I believe your intentions were genuine and benevolent.

Having said that... no good deed goes unpunished.

Also another nice thing to mention is that the chief master sergent, tauld me that his computer background was a aerial photo i took of their police station

 

[With The Birds]

I still seems some parts of this story are missing. I cant see an off duty coppa borhering to put him/her self in the position where they would need to spend hours filling out charge sheets and reports fiddling around with you when they could be relaxing at home with their family and freinds in their down time.
If you were so concerned about the safety of your AC and the conduct of the laser operator you had two witnesses and the video evidence to deal with this appropriately.
As you have stated- your intention was not to involve the authorities. You took matters into your own hands with the intent and expectation (and safety and support of thise accompanying you) you might find one (or perhaps several) teenage persons at the address and proceed to educate them in the error of their ways.
Approaching someone in the confines of their private property unannounced in confrontational circumstances has the obvious potential to escalate and end badly, as is evidenced here. Things could easily have been a lot worse.
Should we believe the laser operator just happened to have the laser on their person to be in a position to paint your AC as you caused it to approach? A more likely scenario might be the individual (and/or perhaps others in their company) took offence to a UAV causing a nuicance to their peaceful enjoyment of the evening and decided to indicate your buzzing around their and adjoining properties was not welcome.
You had the opportunity to file a complaint about the laser use. Only you know the circumstanes leading to the unfortunate escallation. In thinking about your next action consider your cintribution to the outcome. The coppa may loose his job or suffer other serious consequences. The question for you is does he deserve that? Only you know the answer.

 

[henick]

Man people trust too much. Halifax in Canada just had an audit of the evidence lockers, drugs 90% missing and sized money 60% missing. Gimmie a break I could see one of them idiots thinking they're beyond the law sure. Had an off duty officer try to sexually assault my wife last year after having his advances declined. Yeah still a bit sour about that one. They're not all as straight as we would like to think.

 

[SoundByte]

The amount of people in this thread that say they wouldn't confront the laser shooter or it's not worth the risk is plain SAD and PATHETIC. I am a professional pilot and I've been hit by a laser more than once and let me tell you it is a serious thing. I would 100% go to where the person was and confront them. You don't know, next time they may think twice and might actually save some lives.

I agree with you completely, since everything took place about 2 nautical mile from an airport. There are no innocent parties here, the drone was and has been flown right over the approach to a runway. This is not kosher, even for model aircraft.


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[isopro]

I agree with you completely, since everything took place about 2 nautical mile from an airport. There are no innocent parties here, the drone was and has been flown right over the approach to a runway. This is not kosher, even for model aircraft.


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Ok so now i have reasonable doubt to believe SoundByte is a police officer or someone close to a police officer of this town...Well, Welcome to the forum ! , do you own a craft ?
Now let me explain some things, because security is ALWAYS my main priority when using my craft.
First of all, the drone was not flying and is not able to fly close enough to the east/west runway, and during this particular flight it was about 2 nautical miles from the airport, yes i agree, but this airport as super low traffic, it was well away from the line of both runways and at an altitude way lower then what would be acceptable for any type of planes in approach 60-70m altitude at 2 nautical miles from that airport would mean the plane is about to crash in the river, the radio tower(90m) or the mill(110m) anyway. Also there is a on-board system called no fly zone, and it automatically limits the craft altitude to an altitude lower then the altitude of possible for approaches, as soon as it get close to the airport. There is only one place that the craft let me fly in town, that could be dangerous a bit, because my line of sight is limited by trees across the river, it is located at a lower altitude down a valley, and it is the dock south of the airport, and i never go there for this reason. I do fly at the experimental farm, but only with someone to watch for air traffic and at an altitude lower then the height of the mill if im close to the runway lane(if a plane would be in that line he would be hitting the mill so no plane go there ever), i even take extra precautions by doing it at times where there is no air traffic, and if i go higher it will be done early in the morning, while everyone is sleeping, late at night and away from the approach lines. Everything done with the craft is highly calculated, and i did contact the airport before, and they clearly confirmed me that everything I was doing was ok...

P/S: There is another place i avoid, and it's the hospital landing pad, i'm really careful about that, and i always have my ears open for any type of air traffic, and give way to air traffic, everywhere i am flying even at low altitude(30-50m) if i ear anything, i always go down really really fast, and i'm always ready to (pull down in case of emergency), I would never ever let a manned aircraft get close to me and by far...
I've over 4000 successful flights with different type of aircrafts, 0 crash or incident, 0 hard landing, i flew in Toronto with professional aircraft technicians, showed off model aircraft to real commercial pilots, flew in Montreal often with police officers, and in a lot of other locations with aircraft professionals. I can understand your concerns, but i'm always aware of my surroundings, my aircraft location, etc(it is why i was able to spot that laser location really fast) and always on the watch for air traffic, my aircraft is always tested and each part are checked, and i know how to react to every kind of system failure (sensor failures do happen yes, one was even shown to two of the officers" barometer and vision system failure" caused by a cloud of sand, and how i kept perfect control of it and landed smoothly anyway)...

 

[Ramphex]

Not sure how Canada rolls but in PA USA, if there is no proof of crime committed which was the probable cause for arrest, then arrest never happened. Therefore resisting arrest never happened. Therefore there's nothing they can legally charge you with.

I don't know how far you're into this but getting a lawyer and suing the department for wrongful arrest is your best bet.

 

[SoundByte]

OK, I'm not going to quote your post because it makes it hard to do replies on the iPad. Just to put your mind at ease, I am not a cop, nor do I live there. I'm also not trying to cramp your style or rat you out to authorities. That being said, I got my pilots licence in 1991 but let it expire in 2005 because couldn't spend enough time in the air to be worthwhile. I have a P4 and love it. Like you I've also fudged on the rules a bit to get that special shot. However, I know, and will freely admit that I'm not doing the right thing. The last thing I would want to do is start something that might come around and bite me in the @$$. All us pilots gotta keep it real so our hobby doesn't get regulated into the ground. It'll happen if we don't police ourselves, and that includes calling each other out for our mistakes.

Nice photos BTW


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[isopro]

Not sure how Canada rolls but in PA USA, if there is no proof of crime committed which was the probable cause for arrest, then arrest never happened. Therefore resisting arrest never happened. Therefore there's nothing they can legally charge you with.

Well i now learned who the cop is, is name, etc...It sucks that this situation happened between us, because he as the reputation to be one of the best cops in town, and i bet he really is, and peoples even tell me i should not be scared of him(but he is kinda scary to look at, he look like The Rock). It is a big misunderstanding because they are not trained about model aircraft/drone laws yet, and what happened to me was obviously not fair. Also Canadian drone laws are kinda ridiculous, I can only agree with that part, (I could be flying a non airworthy craft in a recreational way while drunk and without any checkup, with headphones on my head, etc, and it would still be legal), But if i want to do any commercial work, even at 30-50m altitude with a paper craft (the paperwork and delay needed is crazy, and certificates are only valid for one flight, that particular day, etc, and the exemption requirement prevent any flight other then for super remote locations...) I was offered commercial work by big corporations in the area, such as Tembec, And some mining operations, and im forced to decline every time. I was expecting the new regulation to pop up faster, but i might end up, being forced to get into the commercial game with those rules anyway, particularly following this event, and start building with a name with Transport Canada.
Also another important thing to note is, that my intent is not to sue them, i can understand their point of view and would of probably done the same or even worse if i was in their pants with the current knowledge they had. But i still don't know what is best for me to do to protect my reputation, and it is my belief i did not deserve to be intimidated and arrested that night.
I would just wish the truth would come out from them instead of me, but it looks like someone close to them made up a whole new story that is now circulating in town, and again im a bad guy who was running without any valid reasons...

 

[Ramphex]

Ignorance is not a defense! Ever!

 

[With The Birds]

Tell people your story, your side (as you are here) if it makes you feel better.

Expect the authorites to act to protect their reputation and maintain community confidence tnough.

You (and your freinds) engaged thinking you would have the upper hand on some teenager(s) thinking you could rattle their cage a little.

You got a nasty suprise when you were met with a couple or grown men who your probably lucky at least one was a coppa ot you may have more than damaged pride and embaressment to contend with.

I you feel, on balance, you have been wronged then do sonething about it.

 

[isopro]

Tell people your story, your side (as you are here) if it makes you feel better.

Expect the authorites to act to protect their reputation and maintain community confidence tnough.

You (and your freinds) engaged thinking you would have the upper hand on some teenager(s) thinking you could rattle their cage a little.

You got a nasty suprise when you were met with a couple or grown men who your probably lucky at least one was a coppa ot you may have more than damaged pride and embaressment to contend with.

I you feel, on balance, you have been wronged then do sonething about it.

The sad thing about this story, and the reason i shared it here is that police officers can now claim a Voyeurism complain in order to arrest any drone pilot lawfully or not...