The New York City police department plans to pilot the unmanned aircrafts in response to complaints about large gatherings, including private events, over Labor Day weekend, officials announced Thursday.

“If a caller states there’s a large crowd, a large party in a backyard, we’re going to be utilizing our assets to go up and go check on the party,” Kaz Daughtry, the assistant NYPD Commissioner, said at a press conference.

The plan drew immediate backlash from privacy and civil liberties advocates, raising questions about whether such drone use violated existing laws for police surveillance.

“It’s a troubling announcement and it flies in the face of the POST Act,” said Daniel Schwarz, a privacy and technology strategist at the New York Civil Liberties Union, referring to a 2020 city law that requires the NYPD to disclose its surveillance tactics. “Deploying drones in this way is a sci-fi inspired scenario.”

  • YeatherEnglish
    15•2 years ago

    Or slingshot it, then claim you thought it was a perv and not a cop drone because they have no discernable markings from so far up.

    • Chozo
      12•2 years ago

      Just FYI, interfering with any drone, even a hobbyist drone flown by a perv spying on you, is a VERY serious crime. The FAA doesn’t fuck around with that, because drones are considered aircraft under their jurisdiction. They’ll go after you as hard as they would if you took down a fully-occupied 747.

      More often than not, you’ll get in worse trouble for interfering with a drone than the pilot will for whatever crimes they may be committing with it. It’s not worth it. Your best bet is to just report it and go inside.

      • @aircooledJenkinsEnglish
        8•2 years ago

        Any drone of any size? Or only the larger ones that require license to operate?

      • @Guy_Fieris_HairEnglish
        0•2 years ago

        I mean, one kills people, that seems like it would be treated different

        • Chozo
          6•2 years ago

          Any object falling uncontrollably out of the sky can kill somebody.

    • Maximilious
      10•2 years ago

      Based on the amount of Ukraine drone strike videos I’ve seen, these things are near unnoticeable as high up as they are.

      • @uisEnglish
        2•2 years ago

        True. And telling streetcleaners look at the sky won’t change anything.