Group Tries To Ground Law-Enforcement Drones Before They Take Off
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Personal drones have become more popular in the last few years, so it's not unusual to see one the air. But seeing one operated by an Los Angeles County Deputy is new.
The Stop LAPD Spying Coalition says it's scary.
"People have no trust in the police department and to entrust with this kind of technology with the capacity to surveil, to kill, to trace and track people, it doesn't sit very well with folks," Hamid Khan, of Stop LAPD Spying Coalition, says.
On Tuesday, the group is launching a 'No Drones LA' campaign. They worry that the new technology would be used to spy on communities of color or poverty.
"The communities who they have regularly targeted would be the ones they would want to be surveilling with these drones," Mariella Saba said.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell addressed those concerns when he introduced the unmanned aircraft program last week.
"We won't be using it to spy on anyone, we won't be using it for generalized surveillance purposes," McDonnell said.
He says the aircraft will only be brought out in special situations, like bomb threats, standoffs or search and rescue operations, where it can help determine whether it's safe for deputies.
"This gives us another set of eyes if you will, on a scene to be able to judge before we put our people directly in harm's way," McDonnell said.
Not everyone believes that.
"We know what mission creep is, that the stated intent expands and the scope expands dramatically," Khan says.
That's why this group wants to ground these aircraft before they take off.