The controversial bill that allows American citizens to be targets of unmanned airborne drones on domestic soil is finally coming to fruition: Chris Dorner is now the first known target of such attacks.
[quote]Yesterday, as a task force of 125 officers, some riding Snowcats in the rugged terrain, continued their search, it was revealed that Dorner has become the first human target for remotely-controlled airborne drones on US soil.
A senior police source said: “The thermal imaging cameras the drones use may be our only hope of finding him. On the ground, it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.”
Asked directly if drones have already been deployed, Riverside Police Chief Sergio Diaz, who is jointly leading the task force, said: “We are using all the tools at our disposal.”
The use of drones was later confirmed by Customs and Border Patrol spokesman Ralph DeSio, who revealed agents have been prepared for Dorner to make a dash for the Mexican border since his rampage began.[/quote]
On one hand, the drone will be incredibly useful in tracking him down. On the other, I have strong reservations about using military tools against citizens outside of war. Discuss this shit.
Clarification: the drone is apparently unarmed. MSN recently reported otherwise, which is causing the uproar that you may have seen on Twitter and Reddit. Drones are used regularly in border patrol (thanks to Achilles for posting that); however, this appears to be the first time unmanned drones are being used specifically on an American citizen.
-
Of course Reddit would be mad about using a armed drone on Dorner If it saves lives it's fine by me.
-
Editado por Myth of Tyrant: 2/12/2013 3:06:53 AMIf you didn't realize that the drone was going to be unarmed you've got almost no idea about the kind of shit storm that would kick up. Also, [url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2012/05/04/brossart_case_cattle_theft_allegations_and_law_enforcement_use_of_domestic_drones_.html]this is not the first time drones have been used by law enforcement agencies.[/url] The Department of Homeland Security has a program [url=http://articles.latimes.com/2012/apr/28/nation/la-na-drone-bust-20120429]that allows for the leasing of drones to law enforcement agencies in place.[/url]
-
If the drone is unarmed and only being used to find him then I see nothing wrong.
-
So why is he doing this? He's trying to kill the families of police officers because he was discovered lying about another officer doing misconduct? Is this man sane?
-
He wasn't a Navy SEAL. He was in the reserves.
-
As long as it's unarmed, I guess it's ok, but even this could become a slippery slope, and powers like these could easily become abused.
-
This will help find him and bring him into custody. I fail to see the problem.
-
Cool. It's about time some Americans were on the receiving end of those things. They need to learn some respect for the technology.
-
No, they were used I believe last year when a man's cows wandered onto another man's land, and the man whose land the cows wandered onto refused to return them and threatened the owner of the cows, which led to an extended, armed standoff. One was used to determine his location so he could be safely apprehended.
-
It's disgusting. They are slowly trying to make us comfortable with seeing these things so soon 30,000 will be in our skies and no one will think anything of Big Brother watching everything. They aren't lying when they call the people of this nation sheep.
-
Thanks to MaxMax for sharing this. Looks like the story may not be true; we'll have to wait for word from the LAPD.
-
Armed or not this is bullshit. While I can understand their use in this case, it's not long before it get's abused.
-
What? Nooooo. Inside the states? That seems like a really bad idea seeing as how bad the rep is for drone use outside the states.
-
Who wants to bet on how long it'll be before they start arming drones and "pre-emptively" killing criminals before they can harm any officers?
-
$5 says the drone will target someone aside from Dorner and the police will harm another innocent civilian.
-
Because risking lives with a conspicuous huge-ass helicopter is totally different.
-
So why is the government spending thousands of dollars to find this dude?
-
This is like a modern version of rambo except this guy knows secrets about corrupt police
-
Dorner has multiple MANPADS at his disposal according to the manifesto. *munches popcorn This'll be good.
-
The people behind pushing for drone use must be happy as hell. They have their own little drone target hunt test case ready to go.
-
Editado por OaklandPaintbalr: 2/11/2013 3:11:39 PMFrom what the article says, they are using the drone for its thermal imaging capabilities, not for an actual strike. Misleading title is misleading.
-
i could take this fat guy out in seconds
-
Who cares? The drone isn't armed. The only difference between using a UAV and a helicopter is that the drone pilot happens to be on the ground.
-
These aren't drone strikes, just drone surveillance. It's the same as if the cops were using a helicopter (which they are). I'm not too worried about a thermal imaging camera being used. The only thing about this that is new is the drone.
-
He knows something the government doesn't want the public to know.
-
ugh, i wouldnt classify it as military, since it doesnt have lethal capabilities, and the fact is drones have already been used. Its not like they will be using it to kill him, but rather track. It is inevitable that drones will be used in more sectors, its what is done with them that is critical.