Your Opinion Of This Police Harassment Of Drone Pilot:

[MikeK]

So the 4th amendment means nothing to you? They have to have reasonable suspicion a crime was committed in order to perform a terry stop which requires you to show ID.

Common sense seems to prove the old adage of catching more flies with honey. Years ago, I was speeding back to work at midnight on an empty stretch of road. I'd forgotten to lock the door of the business when I left and wanted to go back and secure the building, as a responsible employee would. I didn't see the cop until he lit me up. Stupidly, I got out of the vehicle. Here's what the cop saw: a long-haired teen in a van, speeding, expired tags, and the ONLY thing in the back of the van was a TV set I'd taken to work to watch the game that night. The cop was a class A jerk. At one point, he looked under my seat and saw what he thought was a pistol. He pulled his gun on me and frisked me. Within seconds, there were 7 or 8 other police vehicles there. At no point did I argue with him or refuse any of his requests. The gun was an old, rusty BB gun that I'd long since lost. Once he and his backups discovered this, he lectured me about how he could still charge me with carrying a concealed weapon, etc. Again, I complied with all his requests. I had no record,etc. Finally, all his backups left and it was just him and me. Because of my attitude, he ONLY wrote me a ticket for the expired tag and we ended up telling jokes and laughing before he left. He had realized I wasn't a jerk or a criminal so his attitude changed. If I had stupidly been belligerent and questioned his authority to stop me and ask for ID, I'd probably still be locked up.

Even though I was not up to some nefarious deed, I could have gotten several tickets AND been arrested if I'd been a jerk back to him. I didn't have time for that so I was nice and compliant and all ended well. He actually turned out to be a nice guy. He came by the business a few weeks later and recognized me. He looked at me and said, "You carrying any concealed weapons?" as he put his hand on his holster. I told him no and laughed. He grinned and said "I'm keepin' my eye on you!" and took his purchase and left.

In all my interactions with the police (which haven't been many), I've always done what they asked and never had a problem. Works for me.

You were speeding. That called for a summons -- nothing more. All the drama over an old BB-gun was redundant and should not have called for him behaving like, as you've said, "a class-A jerk." You said you had behaved properly and politely, which should have been sufficient cause for him to behave the same way regardless of your age and long hair. And therein lies the tale.

Having watched the TV "ride-along" documentary, COPS from time to time I have seen enough to agree that some people behave stupidly and provocatively when stopped by cops who have perfectly legitimate cause to stop them. On the other hand there are cops who derive perverse satisfaction from giving orders and asserting their authority on intimidated people. If you are stopped by one of these guys and you fail to behave timidly and submissively you will be subjected to excessively aggressive and contemptuous conduct as well as cited for any possible offense.

 

[eatpasta]

Having watched the TV "ride-along" documentary, COPS from time to time I have seen enough to agree that some people behave stupidly and provocatively when stopped by cops who have perfectly legitimate cause to stop them. On the other hand there are cops who derive perverse satisfaction from giving orders and asserting their authority on intimidated people. If you are stopped by one of these guys and you fail to behave timidly and submissively you will be subjected to excessively aggressive and contemptuous conduct as well as cited for any possible offense.

Did you really just use the TV show, 'COPS' for reference?

 

[MikeK]

Did you really just use the TV show, 'COPS' for reference?

Why not? It affords a handy reference for police conduct in certain (not all) situations. What do you find wrong with it?

 

[MikeK]

Why do you need a gun?

Based on what I've seen happening in the UK with regard to aggressive Muslim migrants it looks to me like you will soon wish you had a gun.

 

[eatpasta]

This is very off topic. Mostly because I like to shoot them, it's fun, they go boom. They are good for stopping people stealing my stuff or hurting me, not that I've had to use any of mine for that but you never know. Some people hunt with them, that's not my cup of tea, I'm a bit too lazy to wonder around in the woods and tend to use the grocery store, but I have that option should I change my mind.


Are you calling the roughly 1/3rd of American's that own around 300 million guns "Idiots"?

I think what he is trying to say is that people die in this country every single day from gun violence

 

[eatpasta]

Why not? It affords a handy reference for police conduct in certain (not all) situations. What do you find wrong with it?

I worked in the TV industry for a long time. Believe it or not, all things on TV aren't real and it may not be good for reference

 

[AlecW]

I think what he is trying to say is that people die in this country every single day from gun violence

This is what he said. The quicker you idiots lose your guns the better.

To me that implies us "idiots" that own guns responsibly should lose them. Maybe I'm off and he's more worried about gangbangers killing each other?

 

[eatpasta]

This is what he said. The quicker you idiots lose your guns the better.

To me that implies us "idiots" that own guns responsibly should lose them. Maybe I'm off and he's more worried about gangbangers killing each other?

Who knows....

 

[JasonP4]

So similar scenarios like this play out all over our country and people are groomed from the time they enter public school to not really question authority.

You should always question authority, BUT you must also weigh the risks of doing so with the possible outcomes for your "coloring outside the lines". I am generally all for standing up for your rights and trying to correct the system not go along with it, but when it involves other human beings with guns armed with both ammunition and the feeling of supreme authority, I will take pause. .

I have literally had a similar scenario happen to me while flying my drone. I decided to go out late one night around 1 a.m., and get some good night shots while the air was calm and the risk of people distracting me was minimal. Not 10 minutes into my flight I noticed a police car pass and then turn around. Sure enough he pulled up as I was Landing and approachd me. .

As he is taught from the police academy, he went with the old standby "hi I'm officer blah blah blah can I see some ID please"

Although I was standing by my vehicle I knew full well he had not contacted me due to a traffic infraction. He had no right to ask for my identification. So I did not comply and simply asked if I had done something wrong?

He replied with "it's a little strange to be out flying a drone at 1 a.m." and so I simply said okay and nothing more and stared back at him blankly. So again he asked if he could see my ID.

I asked him next "do I have to since I have not done anything wrong" and he said yes I had to.

Once he gave me that as an order, i complied. Knowing that he did not either follow or know the proper rights of a citizen I concluded that logically it would be an uphill battle and would not be able to change his mind at this time.

Since I hadn't done anything wrong I simply waited for him to clear my name in his system and give me my ID back. Which is what happen. .

Moral of the story pick your battles, because even if I was doing nothing wrong pushing back after that could land me in jail and all kinds of charges that I would have to fight and pay a lawyer for and I don't think it was wise/worth it at that moment.

 

[MikeK]

I worked in the TV industry for a long time. Believe it or not, all things on TV aren't real and it may not be good for reference

Yes. You're right. Some TV police programming, such as NYPD Blue, Law and Order and others are fictional. But COPS is reality TV, meaning it (obviously) is not fiction. Rather, a TV crew rides along in a patrol car during a normal duty cycle and they film actual activity (arrests, etc.) sequences.

COPS is a very popular program which has been around for several seasons. A more recent variation is a program called Live PD, which is basically the same as COPS but is shown live rather than recorded. These reality series afford a valuable insight into police behavior, attitudes and disposition toward the individuals they encounter.

It should be noted that sequences which are released for broadcast are first approved by their respective police command authorities. While it's true that such discretionary editing serves to conceal certain activities and behavioral aspects many of the sequences which are shown can be quite educational -- if one is interested.

 

[MikeK]

I think what he is trying to say is that people die in this country every single day from gun violence

People also die every day because of improper motor vehicle operation and during various sports activities.

 

[MikeK]

It's not gonna happen, second amendment is very hard if not impossible to be changed..
[...]

Thank God.

 

[MetroTx]

Why do you need a gun?

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Is this a serious question or are you just trolling?

 

[Theo450]

Why do you need a gun?

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Protection from tyranny.

 

[42FrankZ]

It's not gonna happen, second amendment is very hard if not impossible to be changed..

What do you mean by "idiots"?

He meant people who don't believe in being subjects, but in being citizens.

 

[eatpasta]

People also die every day because of improper motor vehicle operation and during various sports activities.

For the life of me I'll never understand why people can't understand that a car is a weapon. People die every day in hit and run crashes - how's that not a weapon??

 

[AgileHumor]

Ummm, I'm no subject and fight for my rights.

However, the cops had the right to investigations and get ID.

Sad folks are obstructionist and *****...but that is our world.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk

 

[eatpasta]

What's really sad that is adults can't have constructive discourse.

 

[ob1415]

Personally I think the guy with the drone is a douche. I've seen several of his videos, all with the same premise...he uses his drone to "spy" on people/companies that he feels are violating animal rights, while completely disregarding human rights. Then when the cops show up, its the same story in EVERY video. He always argues that it is not illegal to fly over someone's property, which by and large is true...But I would think it would be questionable to record images and/or video footage while over said property.

Look - I don't care if my neighbor flys a drone over my back yard, but if he's recording my wife and kids out at the pool or is looking in my window, that's a different story.

 

[eatpasta]

Personally I think the guy with the drone is a douche. I've seen several of his videos, all with the same premise...he uses his drone to "spy" on people/companies that he feels are violating animal rights, while completely disregarding human rights. .

it's actually quite alarming how much time and energy some people put into protecting animals when so many people out there desperately need help.

This guy is a perfect example. Most of these folks value animals over people