draganfly.jpg
Seattle Police will begin testing an unmanned aircraft similar to this one, but insists the drone won't be used to violate any privacy rights. (image courtesy Draganfly Innovations Inc.)

SPD insists drones won't be used for spying

BY Josh Kerns  on April 24, 2012 @ 12:18 pm (Updated: 2:11 pm - 4/24/12 )

The Seattle Police Department insists it won't be using new remote controlled aircraft to spy on people, despite concerns raised by the ACLU.

"The idea that this is going to be used to infringe on people's privacy, that is simply not the case," says Sgt. Sean Whitcomb.

The ACLU raised red flags about the drones after it was reported last week the SPD would be deploying several unmanned aircraft thanks to a grant funded by the Urban Areas Security initiative.

But Whitcomb says the department is working with the FAA and developing "appropriate policies."

Whitcomb says the drones will be used for situations like crime scene photography, missing person searches, and barricaded person scenarios.

"What is consistent here is that these are very static scenarios. You're not going to see the drone going from one end of downtown to the next following a police pursuit," Whitcomb says.

The drones will be limited to 400 feet in altitude and must remain in sight of the operator, much like a remote control toy airplane frequently seen at local parks.

"The idea is that it is very similar to the bomb robot that we have. It's just a remote control device this one happens to be aerial," Whitcomb says.

Whitcomb says the drones will inexpensively help with public safety and improve crime scene investigations. Currently, officers have to rent King County's Guardian One helicopter or even climb ladders or borrow a fire truck in order to get an aerial view.

Josh Kerns, MyNorthwest.com Reporter
Josh Kerns is co-host of KIRO Radio's Seattle Sounds (Saturday nights 7-8) and a digital content producer for MyNorthwest.com.
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Comments (42)


  • Add A Comment

  • CH wrote...
    * SPD insists drones won't be used for spying . . . .
    April 24, 2012 1:30 pm
    getting better by the minute. Hope they have a live feed, some ladies in their backyards I would check out. The new Red Light Camera. RLC is airborne.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • R L M 456 wrote...
    SPD insists drones won't be used for spying
    April 24, 2012 5:53 pm
    Seatbelts will only ever be a "secondary violation"

    Cell Phones will Only be a Secondary violation

    Red Light Cameras are NOT -just for the Money

    The INTERNAL INVESTIGATION says that no foul was committed

    ALL the money donated to the Police Guild goes to good causes

    Do you see a pattern here???

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • CHJ(cliff hanger jr) wrote...
    really?
    April 26, 2012 8:14 am
    oh i dont think thatll happen thats going alil far
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • fourstringfuror wrote...
    Paranoid much?
    April 24, 2012 1:40 pm
    "Unmanned aircraft?" Seriously? It's a remote control helicopter.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • HPD 5-0 wrote...
    CH is always paranoid. It's a bi-product of all the pot smoking....
    April 24, 2012 4:35 pm
    ....
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • SeattleNative wrote...
    If it can't be seen from the street...
    April 24, 2012 2:00 pm
    ...it shouldn't be seen at all. These can definitely lead to an invasion of expected privacy.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • NoiseMan wrote...
    I like the fact that they are being used
    April 24, 2012 2:47 pm
    Anything to help put bad people away. But I don't believe for one minute they will not be used to invade the public's privacy rights. Just by making such a claim implies they have no respect for the intelligence of the general public. Fly it over my house and I will show you how good a shot I am with a sling shot.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • JustAnotherFish wrote...
    That is...
    April 24, 2012 3:01 pm
    a vortex of contradictory brilliance.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • CHJ(cliff hanger jr) wrote...
    as if
    April 26, 2012 11:06 am
    noise man as if you could hit a uav with even a round much less a sling yeah dont brag if you cant back it up
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • C"mon Man wrote...
    Big brother
    April 24, 2012 3:13 pm
    Spying or bombing,I doubt the latter is the reason.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • roomtemp wrote...
    "SPD insists drones won't be used for spying"
    April 24, 2012 3:23 pm
    For now... After a while they'll be everywhere, picking up the slack for the fixed mount cameras, cell phone monitoring, and social media surveillance.

    They've learned that it's best to take your rights away incrementally.

    Side note, Larry Niven called this one in 1972 with "copseyes"...

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • irony wrote...
    sure they won't
    April 24, 2012 3:49 pm
    thanks to the good liberal judges and politicians we now have big brother.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • dadling wrote...
    Then Why Do They Want Them?
    April 24, 2012 4:12 pm
    As much as I respect the police and the job they do, I also fear what they are becoming.... I don't for a second believe their excuse for wanting these super-spy vehicles...that's what they are designed to be..and they're very good at it... I don't like being lied too by any government official, or, office. We are being lied to now. This is NOT to Protect & Serve....
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • rastaj wrote...
    It outta be fun....
    April 24, 2012 4:30 pm
    Blasting those annoying spy drones out of the sky with good ole paint ball guns. It could be a new sport.....hahaha
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • HPD 5-0 wrote...
    Some of you are so paranoid
    April 24, 2012 4:36 pm
    it's amazing you know what end to wipe.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • rastaj wrote...
    Paranoid?
    April 24, 2012 4:56 pm
    Since 9/11 a lot of verrry suspicious things have occurred do to the now inert "threat" of terrorism. I do not believe it and I'm surprised how many others have fallen for the ruse. TSA airport and now highway harassment, the patriot act, Homeland security, police departments buying 450 million rounds of hollow point bullets. Spy drones IN the US. Where are our freedoms going, eh HPD 5-0? Who is the real criminal we are trying to catch? If you are not suspicious, you are naive.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • maplefish wrote...
    Drones...
    April 24, 2012 5:13 pm
    From a government that refuses to use the term "War on Terrorism" yet they invent an imaginary "war on Women" and DRONES to supposedly protect us from bad guys. This is a disgrace! HPD 5-0, just because you're a cop doesn't mean this is a good thing. I'm very disappointed in you.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • roundemup wrote...
    Wipe This
    April 24, 2012 8:02 pm
    You probably wipe both ends, as it's obvious that you're full of sh__t! What we need is for some brainiac to invent and mass produce minature stinger missles and shoot down as many of these liberty threatening pests as we can.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • chrisallen wrote...
    Listen, People,
    April 24, 2012 4:56 pm
    I'm a detective. If I'm on the 30th floor looking down on the street at pedestrians, then some people will say I'm 'spying' and violating our rights. If I fly over your house in a Cessna airplane and take a picture of what's on the other side of your fence, then it's 'Big Brother.' Same if I climb a tree and look over your fence. What's the difference if I have a remote controlled helicopter and hover it over the most accident-prone intersection? Am I 'spying?' People, do you want cops to catch criminals or do you want criminals to have more rights than law-abiding citizens?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • rastaj wrote...
    You don't see....
    April 24, 2012 5:13 pm
    What is really going on, do you Chris? People do have a right to some semblance of privacy, am I wrong? What is YOUR definition of freedom, and where does the "spying" end? Where and who draws that line? It seems to me that people are lying down and LETTING this stuff happen.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • maplefish wrote...
    Well, With Spying Drones
    April 24, 2012 5:20 pm
    The criminals WILL have more rights as this will be challenged and dismissed over and over and over again. This, along with Red Light Cameras and speed cameras are a complet and total infringemnet on "the Right to Privacy"... And again, Where is the money coming from to pay for these DRONES? Aren't we here in SAY WA Broke? Why not put them along the Mexican border instead of spying on citizens???I hope these things get shot out of the sky on a daily basis! Absolutely Disgraceful!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ron prevost wrote...
    ok, ok - spying
    April 25, 2012 5:47 am
    Can anyone say 'Google Earth' ? ............ But, of course, all they want is mapping of a sort. ..... Somehow I don't think SPD wants drones only for watching intersections. ................
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }