Trouble - the FAA asks for LEO assistance

[SteveMann]

Trouble - the FAA asks for LEO assistance. It means that they are in way over their head or their collective head is closer to ground level than first suspected.
http://www.faa.gov/uas/law_enforcement/

Here's the headline:

The FAA is deputizing police forces across the U.S. in the fight against illegal drone use. The agency has issued a 12-page guide to law-enforcement agencies enlisting their help in stemming the "considerable increase in the unauthorized use" of small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS)

(If you are a licensed pilot, you may recall the last time the FAA and LLEO conspired with Homeland Security and dozens of pilots on purely interstate flights were illegally stopped Gestapo-style with guns drawn, dogs on the leash, detained and searched "with prejudice" solely because the flights began in Arizona or California without a Flight Plan [Note, no Flight Plan is required for a VFR flight].)

Here's some of the more disturbing lines in the FAA announcement and attached PDF file:

In addition, some UAS may be marked with identification numbers (“N-numbers”) signifying FAA registration.

This implies that an unregistered aircraft is suspect.

However, other law enforcement processes, such as arrest and detention or non-consensual searches almost always fall outside of the allowable methods to pursue administrative enforcement actions by the FAA unless they are truly a by-product of a state criminal investigation. We do not mean to discourage use of these methods and procedures where there is an independent basis for them under state or local law.

Arrests are what LEO do first.

The document explains how first responders and others can provide invaluable assistance to the FAA by:
* Identifying potential witnesses and conducting initial interviews
* Contacting the suspected operators of the UAS or model aircraft
* Viewing and recording the location of the event
* Collecting evidence
* Identifying if the UAS operation was in a sensitive location, event or activity
* Notifying one of the FAA’s Regional Operation Centers about the operation as soon as possible

'Collect Evidence' will almost always mean confiscation of your aircraft.

 

[LuvMyTJ]

Duplicate topic. Please comment in this existing thread. Thank you. http://www.phantompilots.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=32890