Who says citizen action doesn't matter?
A strong outcry by the locals -- forestalled the Super-Surveillance Society, at least for now anyways ...
Seattle mayor scuttles police plans to use drones
Associated Press, CBSNews -- Feb 8, 2013
[...]
Seattle's mayor on Thursday ordered the police department to abandon its plan to use drones after residents and privacy advocates protested.
Mayor Mike McGinn said the department will not use two small drones it obtained through a federal grant. The unmanned aerial vehicles will be returned to the vendor, he said.
UAVs in the USA.
USA! USA!
It's a free country air-space right? So never ever, ever, assume you're alone anymore.
Afterall they've got eyes in the sky ... more and more all the time.
Hello Big Brother! And it used to just be just a bad TV show ...
[...]
The decision comes as the debate over drones heats up across the country. Lawmakers in at least 11 states are looking at plans to restrict the use of drones over their skies amid concerns the vehicles could be exploited to spy on Americans.
The Seattle Police Department previously said it would use drones to provide an overhead view of large crime scenes, serious accidents, disasters, and search and rescue operations. It had conducted demonstrations of the drones to show the public their capabilities.
[...]
The proposed measure would have allowed the use of drones for data collection but barred police from using them over "open-air assembly of people" or for general surveillance. The drones would have carried no weapons, but the proposal would have allowed police to use face-recognition software in them.
[...]
Well, what ever happened to having a patrol car respond to the scene of an incident? You know, the police motto: "
Serve and Protect." That requires an actual public safety officer,
in person, on the scene.
What's a flying camera going to do -- tell them how many cars to send?
Well at least they were "unarmed" -- for now. But give them time. I'm sure the lawyers are working on a rationale for THAT invasion of privacy (our personal space and effects), even as we speak.
There's probably "probable cause" in there somewhere ... "Zoom in WAY closer, OK? We'll find it."
Afterall -- the "bad guys" are everywhere, doncha know? USA! USA!