It seems like the only folks who think domestic drone use is a good idea are the people using the drones.
Reutersreporter Chris Francessi today writes that domestic users are flouting federal regulations, and that drones of all purposes are filling America's skies.
Not everyone is excited about a future containing government-run, unmanned surveillance machines.
On Feb. 24, local Waverly, Ohio, police received a report about a drunken man shooting a gun inside his own home. When they arrived on the scene, 62-year-old Michael Blevins refused to answer either the door or the phone.
Back-up arrived with a trained negotiator. The negotiator failed. They decided to send in a surveillance robot.
Blevins (allegedly) drew his pistol and gunned down the bot.
Blevins was booked (obviously) on a host of charges, one of which was vandalism of government property. Authorities found two Ak-47s, loads of ammunition, and a 70-round drum that is illegal in the state of Ohio.
Whatever happens to Blevins, whether he likes it or not, he's become a symbol: Every war has its first shots fired.
Blevins isn't the only one to target public surveillance apparatus. Maryland police had to deploy cameras to surveill other cameras, after residents kept shooting at their "red light" cameras.
Blevins is likely to be in a long line of libertarian "folk heroes" who take up arms against perceived robotic intrusion — and the intrusion will likely continue.
Recent news out of CNET details how military Predator drones have been retrofitted for domestic surveillance, in particular dragnet sensors that scoop up cell phone signals and cameras that can identify armed civilians.
Declan McCullagh writes:
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has customized its Predator drones, originally built for overseas military operations, to carry out at-home surveillance tasks that have civil libertarians worried: identifying civilians carrying guns and tracking their cell phones, government documents show.
While it is always safer to send a bot in the place of a human to deal with an unrelenting perpetrator, in a country so well armed, Michael Blevins is likely just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to armed confrontations between man and law enforcement bot.
SEE ALSO: Infographic shows with stunning clarity the future of domestic drone use >
SEE ALSO: Drone propaganda website pops online just in time for Obama's second term >
SEE ALSO: The heavily armed Predator is changing the way America takes out Al Qaeda >
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