Is the following an invasion of Privacy?

[Sgt_dubie]

I am going to risk being flamed here ..............

1. We see a clip of the video and have to trust person posting it that it is complete for the events stated. It is not unknown for 'clips' to be edited ..... I am only saying and not accusing.

2. This I base on the posts by the OP after receiving replies : I wonder what the exchange of words were with the person complaining about 'claimed overfly' ? I would hope that OP had a more relaxed - reasonable tone than has become apparent in posts here ?

The problem like many posted - is we only get to hear / read one side of the story. We have no idea why the guy refused to view the video ....

Remember Hogwarts - the guy who had the woman prosecuted for arguing with him after he overflew people on the beach ... few weeks later bragged about it ? It then turned out his video used as evidence was EDITED !!
Plus not long after posted a Youtube firing a gun of a Multi Rotor (quadcopter) ....
It was also later publicised about his School attendance behaviour etc. ......
This of course when revealed showed a completely different light than he'd claimed when the woman objected to his overflying the beach.

I am not accusing OP here .... I am just illustrating how difficult it is to actually come to a conclusion when not all parties are at hand.

Nigel

I do have to agree here. There are some unreasonable people out there that will fly off the handle with little provocation. However, in general I find people generally have some kind of reason to be so intolerant (not that they’re right per say).

As mentioned by another poster, the neighbor could very well angry about something else and is using the drone fly by as an excuse to create a confrontation. But at the end of the day, if he doesn’t want a drone flying over his yard, why give him reason to make a bigger issue out of it?

 

[bsartist]

I am going to risk being flamed here ..............

1. We see a clip of the video and have to trust person posting it that it is complete for the events stated. It is not unknown for 'clips' to be edited ..... I am only saying and not accusing.

2. This I base on the posts by the OP after receiving replies : I wonder what the exchange of words were with the person complaining about 'claimed overfly' ? I would hope that OP had a more relaxed - reasonable tone than has become apparent in posts here ?

The problem like many posted - is we only get to hear / read one side of the story. We have no idea why the guy refused to view the video ....

Remember Hogwarts - the guy who had the woman prosecuted for arguing with him after he overflew people on the beach ... few weeks later bragged about it ? It then turned out his video used as evidence was EDITED !!
Plus not long after posted a Youtube firing a gun of a Multi Rotor (quadcopter) ....
It was also later publicised about his School attendance behaviour etc. ......
This of course when revealed showed a completely different light than he'd claimed when the woman objected to his overflying the beach.

I am not accusing OP here .... I am just illustrating how difficult it is to actually come to a conclusion when not all parties are at hand.

Nigel

Spot on. See my post #56 here:

Is the following an invasion of Privacy?

 

[KMixson]

Have dealt with angry people before. It seams they all want to fight until I want to fight. Then they want to run. For example, in my truck driving days I was followed into a truck stop in Brunswick Ga. by a guy in a car. After parking my truck in the parking lot of the truck stop this guy came running up banging on my drivers door wanting me to get out and fight. I did. As soon as he saw what he was dealing with he ran back to his car and took off. He was probably 5'6" and 170 lb. I am 6'1" and 245 lbs. He suddenly decided not to fight and run. I am not going to chase them down to fight them.

Another example, I had problems with a group of bullies while in high school. They were tough as long as there were six of them. We fought multiple times until I single out one of them and had my way with him. After that they would then scatter when I got near them. Never had any more problems with them.

As for the legal side of things, I have done pretty well getting my ducks in a row before it gets to the point of being taken to court. I like to have the law understood before the situation arises that someone calls the police.

An example, in my younger days I had a girlfriend living with me that I had to evict. I actually went to the courthouse and asked what the procedures would be to do it legally. The next morning I did exactly what they told me and she called the police. When they arrived, they told her I had done it the proper way and she had to go.

Another example, I had a friend who lost her son and had to evict his friends out of the house he was living in and we went to the court to get an eviction notice. When we went to evict them the woman turned violent towards me and attacked. After she attacked me I walked outside and called the police. The police arrived and told her and the other two males they had to go.

Same goes with my drone, I carry a folder with copies of the laws and maps/sectionals of the area I can legally be flying in. I had one officer stop and talk to me about moving until I brought out the laws. He then realized I knew the law better than him and backed down quickly. Act professional and you will gain their respect.

 

[lmmavrick]

Sorry, but after 16 yearsin the army, consistently earning marksman, I think I likely know how to handle firearms better than most... now, if your flying a drone in such a way someone can get a shotgun and shoot it down in their yard, I’m sorry, but you are the problem.

shoot down someones drone and you'll be the one facing charges . that's comment is to stupid to even consider

 

[N017RW]

I understand the emotion expressed by some. But do you have any case law to substantiate your assumptions?

There is at least one case which contradicts your belief....


People v. Meredith: Drones Get a Court Precedent

 

[JoBe]

The complaint was I crossed over the MIDDLE OF HIS GARDEN, + HOVERED THERE FOR A SHORT WHILE. Was it an invasion of his privacy?
When offered a copy, he did NOT want to see the film!

for what its worth since we all know what drone videos look like at different altitudes then we all know just how low in altitude you were when flying next to that guys house. sure from this short clip it doesnt show hovering but it must have been loud for him and flying that close to someone's house is just not cool to be honest. i could for sure see how that could bother folks especially as someone said if you were doing it more than once. these days it doesnt take much to get people crazy mad at a drone pilot. for real.

 

[BigAl07]

Just so everyone is aware... the OP is no longer a member of this forum so it's futile to address them directly.

Just an FYI . . .

 

[bsartist]

Just so everyone is aware... the OP is no longer a member of this forum so it's futile to address them directly.

Just an FYI . . .

Maybe it’s time to cap this landfill then. ;-)

 

[solentlife]

shoot down someones drone and you'll be the one facing charges . that's comment is to stupid to even consider

Guy already was prosecuted for shooting down a drone .... he claimed Drone was videoing his daughter sunbathing .......... at 8 o'clock at night ??
I believe he went to jail ... and then some bunch of do-gooder Tree-Huggers petitioned fro him to be released ....

Nigel

 

[bsartist]

Guy already was prosecuted for shooting down a drone .... he claimed Drone was videoing his daughter sunbathing .......... at 8 o'clock at night ??
I believe he went to jail ... and then some bunch of do-gooder Tree-Huggers petitioned fro him to be released ....

Nigel

See post #125 above. If that’s the case, the news articles say the judge dismissed the charges because the guy was justified in shooting it down.

The rest of that story is that the drone owner sued - possibly in federal court - for damages. He argued that the drone is considered an aircraft for the purpose of federal law prohibiting shooting down aircraft. It looked like it might be a test case for clarifying that particular point. But it was not to be. That judge sidestepped that issue by dismissing it on jurisdictional grounds.

 

[solentlife]

See post #125 above. If that’s the case, the news articles say the judge dismissed the charges because the guy was justified in shooting it down.

The rest of that story is that the drone owner sued - possibly in federal court - for damages. He argued that the drone is considered an aircraft for the purpose of federal law prohibiting shooting down aircraft. It looked like it might be a test case for clarifying that particular point. But it was not to be. That judge sidestepped that issue by dismissing it on jurisdictional grounds.

The story there is not same as one I post about .... there was one where guy shot the drone and actually did go to jail.
Do-gooders then managed to get him released on Time-Served .....

The claim was about videoing his daughter sunbathing ..... but time stamp showed it was after sundown !!

If I can find it - I'll list it.

Nigel

 

[N017RW]

The story there is not same as one I post about .... there was one where guy shot the drone and actually did go to jail.
Do-gooders then managed to get him released on Time-Served .....

The claim was about videoing his daughter sunbathing ..... but time stamp showed it was after sundown !!

If I can find it - I'll list it.

Nigel

Sure sounds like same story...

Here’s another report which mentions one of your points..,

William Merideth arrested after shooting down $1,800 drone hovering over sunbathing daughter

 

[solentlife]

Sure sounds like same story...

Here’s another report which mentions one of your points..,

William Merideth arrested after shooting down $1,800 drone hovering over sunbathing daughter

Seems like it ... I have been searching for the original article .. and all lead to Meredith ............

Interesting that not all reports have same content as well !!

For me personally : I am of the mind that if you hover over a property at an altitude that is moderate or low - then that is annoyance to them and should be avoided ... if you overfly en-route - then I try to do at reasonable altitude to avoid misunderstandings.
Often we cannot avoid overflying others property - so we should do it in least obtrusive objectionable way.

If someone did shoot my drone for overflying - I have other ways to deal with it ... 'nuff said' ....

Nigel

 

[N017RW]

Seems like it ... I have been searching for the original article .. and all lead to Meredith ............

Interesting that not all reports have same content as well !!

For me personally : I am of the mind that if you hover over a property at an altitude that is moderate or low - then that is annoyance to them and should be avoided ... if you overfly en-route - then I try to do at reasonable altitude to avoid misunderstandings.
Often we cannot avoid overflying others property - so we should do it in least obtrusive objectionable way.

If someone did shoot my drone for overflying - I have other ways to deal with it ... 'nuff said' ....

Nigel

I did find two articles, one in New Jersey and one in California, where there were fines issued to a/the shooter but did not involve sunbathing or jail time.

Had to dig deep but don’t believe these are related to your mention.

Often stories become imbellished and conflated (web-lore) and may have been what you saw later to be removed.

 

[bsartist]

Seems like it ... I have been searching for the original article .. and all lead to Meredith ............

Interesting that not all reports have same content as well !!

For me personally : I am of the mind that if you hover over a property at an altitude that is moderate or low - then that is annoyance to them and should be avoided ... if you overfly en-route - then I try to do at reasonable altitude to avoid misunderstandings.
Often we cannot avoid overflying others property - so we should do it in least obtrusive objectionable way.

If someone did shoot my drone for overflying - I have other ways to deal with it ... 'nuff said' ....

Nigel

Regarding differing reports, this may not be what you saw and you probably realize this but keep in mind that there were two court cases involving Meredith the “Drone Slayer.” One criminal and one civil. Each one dismissed for different reasons.

 

[solentlife]

The story / report I saw was last year spring / early summer ... lets put it this way - its an old story ...

I'm actually one of those who prefer to get to source or primary and not just take 3rd .. 4th hand versions. Far too many others around to do that !!

Nigel

 

[Habanero]

My opinion ,

Look at the video few times and didn't notice anything that would indicate a problem unless you keep doing this every day and your neighbor hear you drone every day over and over again... It gets old. If he don't like it why not try to stay away from his house by at least claiming higher when passing by him so he can't notice ... he it's you neighbor and you can just do it as a favor not because it's ilegal ... next time he has a loud party or loud bike, car etc you have moral right to ask him to keep it down just like you did when something bother him.

Use it in your favor and not agains you... works better than arguing and hostility where you call home

 

[shane05]

That's your opinion and you're entitled to it just like I am MINE!

So yes REALLY! If we don't police ourselves we can be sure our Govt will police us and we will not be happy with the outcome. Other countries have already enacted very strict (and silly) Anti-Privacy laws and some states are going that route as well here in the US. So please just do as you please and see how it comes out in the long run for the rest of us.

100% Agreed! Significantly tighter laws are inevitable. All you have to do is read these or any other open UAS forums to see the general public is incapable of self-policing. Many would rather pick a fight to demonstrate their rights to do all of the things they feel they're entitled to rather than just being a freaking nice human being and deciding "hey, you know, I can legally fly here but if it upsets this guy so much I'll just avoid this area so we can all get along". Laws and regulations have little to do with logic and everything to do with perception. With Joe Public on our team, we don't stand a chance. Thankfully on the professional side, people do seem to take all of this far more seriously so hopefully we will not be hit as hard when it starts raining regs...

 

[solentlife]

Have dealt with angry people before. It seams they all want to fight until I want to fight. Then they want to run. For example, in my truck driving days I was followed into a truck stop in Brunswick Ga. by a guy in a car. After parking my truck in the parking lot of the truck stop this guy came running up banging on my drivers door wanting me to get out and fight. I did. As soon as he saw what he was dealing with he ran back to his car and took off. He was probably 5'6" and 170 lb. I am 6'1" and 245 lbs. He suddenly decided not to fight and run. I am not going to chase them down to fight them.

Another example, I had problems with a group of bullies while in high school. They were tough as long as there were six of them. We fought multiple times until I single out one of them and had my way with him. After that they would then scatter when I got near them. Never had any more problems with them.

As for the legal side of things, I have done pretty well getting my ducks in a row before it gets to the point of being taken to court. I like to have the law understood before the situation arises that someone calls the police.

An example, in my younger days I had a girlfriend living with me that I had to evict. I actually went to the courthouse and asked what the procedures would be to do it legally. The next morning I did exactly what they told me and she called the police. When they arrived, they told her I had done it the proper way and she had to go.

Another example, I had a friend who lost her son and had to evict his friends out of the house he was living in and we went to the court to get an eviction notice. When we went to evict them the woman turned violent towards me and attacked. After she attacked me I walked outside and called the police. The police arrived and told her and the other two males they had to go.

Same goes with my drone, I carry a folder with copies of the laws and maps/sectionals of the area I can legally be flying in. I had one officer stop and talk to me about moving until I brought out the laws. He then realized I knew the law better than him and backed down quickly. Act professional and you will gain their respect.

Sorry to say this - but if you came at me with much of what you post here - I would regard you as confrontational.
You seem to want to teach the world a lesson.

Problem is - although you may be correct in law - in terms of human contact and communication - seems you prefer to tuff it out.

I have to say that if you had that style in my job - you'd be soon looking for alternative employment - seriously.

No offence intended - just speaking plain.

Nigel

 

[bsartist]

Sorry to say this - but if you came at me with much of what you post here - I would regard you as confrontational.
You seem to want to teach the world a lesson.

Problem is - although you may be correct in law - in terms of human contact and communication - seems you prefer to tuff it out.

I have to say that if you had that style in my job - you'd be soon looking for alternative employment - seriously.

No offence intended - just speaking plain.

Nigel

Are you actually referring to the Original Poster?