Police visited me today 1 day after buying Phantom 3

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Well, it kinda takes the fun out of flying when the police come to your house day after you buy your new Phantom. I live in Arkansas and someone thinks I was taking pictures of his/her house from 100ft up. I didn't even have my SD card in. I could care less what other people are doing and am VERY conscious about privacy issues.

First thing he said was "there aren't any laws against using them". Turns out the officer was super friendly and genuinely interested in it and came to take a look at it. He noticed there was no SD card in and knew I was a good guy.

But, sighhhhh.....

I guess from now on, it's straight up and then out when I fly from home.
 
You should have asked the cops why they came when they knew there were no laws broken.

Did they get paid to intimidate you?

Here in NYC people can break laws, u call cops and they never show up. BUT you are guaranteed a parking ticket if you are 5 minutes over on your meter or street cleaning...

We even got sanitation police. You better not take your trash out 5 min too early

I hope you contact those officers and have them visit the complainant, and have them explain to the complainant that filing a false police report is actually a crime.
 
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Thanks for your support, everyone. I think the officer was just being courteous to the complainer. It's a small town atmosphere. Maybe he was partly curious. I guess they know I'm not a threat now, at least.
 
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I flew mine on Friday early evening over my sister's home in her large backyard. Went up in the air 150'. Few minutes later I hear an approaching helicopter, so I bring down the P3P to a low hover. It was a police helicopter, and he circled the house about 15 times at low altitude (200' or so) and close in. We waived and expected cruisers to show up in the driveway. They never did though. It was a strange feeling.
 
I flew mine on Friday early evening over my sister's home in her large backyard. Went up in the air 150'. Few minutes later I hear an approaching helicopter, so I bring down the P3P to a low hover. It was a police helicopter, and he circled the house about 15 times at low altitude (200' or so) and close in. We waived and expected cruisers to show up in the driveway. They never did though. It was a strange feeling.

Wow! I feel better now. Seriously. That would have had me shaking, even though I know it's not illegal.
 
I hope you contact those officers and have them visit the complainant, and have them explain to the complainant that filing a false police report is actually a crime.

I see no indication that the person lied about what they reported. Anyone is welcome to report _any_ honest information to the police. It's then up to the police to determine if they _might_ be a violation of the law and if so, to conduct and investigation.
 
My neighbor told me to not fly over his house again. What are you going to do? Not worth fighting over, even though he is subtly accusing me of spying on his kids.
 
Tell him he doesn't control the airspace. Or offer to take video and pics and send them to him. Either way
 
The guy around the corner bought one, he flies over near and far away from my place, I don't like it.

Yet I "run" a few Phantoms myself, I sometimes wonder about being human, it must be in our nature, well some of us.
 
I fly over my neighbor hood all the time. The way I see it, it no different than the houses next to me that are 2 story and look down on me in my back yard. They can see all I do outside. Even by peeping thru their closed blinds and I don't know they watching me.
 
I fly over my neighbor hood all the time. The way I see it, it no different than the houses next to me that are 2 story and look down on me in my back yard. They can see all I do outside. Even by peeping thru their closed blinds and I don't know they watching me.

I agree.
 
I fly over my neighbor hood all the time. The way I see it, it no different than the houses next to me that are 2 story and look down on me in my back yard. They can see all I do outside. Even by peeping thru their closed blinds and I don't know they watching me.

There's a lot of reverse reasoning going on there :)
 
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No legal issues here but I did have a lady walking her dogs tell me she thought she was being chased by a hive of bees and had been running around screaming. She was actually disappointed to hear that I didn't get the incident on video.
 
I'm a police officer in Florida and a new Phantom 3 owner. It's not illegal in Florida to take pictures or video of anything in the public. That includes from the air. The only time it's illegal is when you take pictures or videos through the windows of a house because they have a "reasonable expectation of privacy"
 
I'm a police officer in Florida and a new Phantom 3 owner. It's not illegal in Florida to take pictures or video of anything in the public. That includes from the air. The only time it's illegal is when you take pictures or videos through the windows of a house because they have a "reasonable expectation of privacy"

So, why do you think the officer even bothered to come talk to me?
 
More than likely to get both sides of the story and to assure the other party

So, what else should I NOT do with it to make sure I stay friendly with the police?
 
In most places, the cops HAVE to address any complaint they get, no matter how ridiculous. Even though he knows you broke no laws, he was probably mandated by police dept. policy to talk to you. That's how it is in most places. I've had cops approach me while flying, they are mostly curious and not out to make a big deal out of it.
 
I hope you contact those officers and have them visit the complainant, and have them explain to the complainant that filing a false police report is actually a crime.

Fileing a false police report is only when the person is intentionally and knowingly reporting some thing they know is not true and also can only be charged with filing a false police report if the cops know and can prove the person was indeed lying and not just incorrect in what they thought they were reporting.

Tho even if the cops know that just merely flying is not illegal its also not illegal for a cop to come and do a knock and talk just in case some one might volunteer info that they were doing some thing illegal. Like if the person said no no no officer I was flying over mrs Jones house and I was just trying to see if I could peek in the the windows of the underage girl next store to mrs jones house. or some thing like that. lol wooops wrong way to try to talk your way out of trouble.

But as far as a cop just coming and asking if was you. Is more like a nice polite way to just come and let you know you have an ******* freak neighbor.

I actually had to cops come one night when some mentally ill person reported a ufo and the cops assumed there was probably a much more likely explanation and assumed it might be me or the fireman who is one of his friends that has one a few blocks away and flys from the fire house and I just happened to be closer and out side flying when they showed up There next stop would of been the fire house if it wasn't me. To them When they seen it was just me and not all i and in a ufo trying to invade earth. It was all they needed to know they can close out the report from the crazy person that called them and said wow that thing is cool and said have a good night fly safe and have fun. One also commented on the parinode people that think its the cops watching them that they get calls on a few times. and the one cop said he thought that was great if it makes people walk a lil straighter and keep there noses clean thats not a bad thing. and lol said good fly more often. I took that as a sign that not only is it not illegal but the cops also are completely cool with me flying it.
 

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