![]() “The infrared, the camera, is just not safe for us to use,” she said.Īllen said one of the state-approved drones caught fire while unplugged in a Palm Beach County Sheriff deputy’s car, forcing the deputy to pull over and drag out the carpet and flaming object on the side of the road. “That’s going to put us in danger, our officers in danger, and the public in danger, when these drones continue to fall out of the sky.”Ĭollier County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Meagan Kitchenhoff said the American-made drones can’t fly at night. “In one year and a half, we had five failures of the manufacturers on the list. Their replacements from the approved list are inferior, and in some cases dangerous, Cruz and others testified. … You can’t measure what these drones have brought to officer safety.”ĭJI drones in particular have been a “godsend,” Orlando police Sgt. David Cruz said. “But until we had some misfortunes happen in Florida, and around the state, I came to warm up to the use of drones greatly. ![]() “They took away the fun of law enforcement, which was chasing bad guys,” Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Col. Robert Allen told lawmakers. They said the drones even won over skeptics among their ranks. DJI drones a ‘godsend’Ĭheaper than flying a helicopter and safer than pursuing suspects down an alley, police said that drones have become integral to their police departments.ĭuring last month’s committee hearing, officers and supervisors said drones have helped pursue criminals, warned officers of armed suspects, identified Alzheimer’s patients and missing people, and even flown into a home to check on an armed, barricaded suspect. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office shelved 19 of its 25 drones. All 31 of the Collier County Sheriff’s Office’s drones were shelved. The Broward County Sheriff’s Office shelved its 63 DJI drones. Enforcement of the rule doesn’t start until Wednesday. 1 to stop using drones not included on the list. 12 announcement gave police and governments until Jan. 12, did not include DJI - by far the leader in commercial-use drones and widely used by police across the state.Ī more comprehensive rule, effective Wednesday, bans the government use of all drones produced by a company based in a “foreign country of concern,” which includes China. Wright said it was never his intent to ban drones that “law enforcement has confidently told me pose no threat.” But the administration’s list of approved drone manufacturers, announced Dec. The bill also required the state to come up with a list of approved drone manufacturers for state agencies and local governments. In 2021, Wright sponsored legislation that set standards for the use of drones by police and other government entities. “That seems, and smells, really political to me.” “Every single officer here can have a DJI drone at home but not on the job,” Sen. Jason Pizzo, D-Miami, said last month. The outcry from police and lack of explanation from the DeSantis administration has some lawmakers questioning the rule. Wright, a retired businessman and former K-9 officer, said he’s made it his personal mission “to get these DJIs back up and flying.” He sponsored SB 1514 this session to push back the state’s deadline and give police more time to replace their Chinese-made drones, but the legislation has yet to get a hearing. “I cannot imagine what China would really want to see when we pull over a DUI, when we stop a speeding car, when we arrest somebody for an outstanding warrant.” “I’m not going to let one officer risk his life or her life because somebody thinks that these things talk to China,” Wright said during a Senate committee hearing last month. ![]() The decision has infuriated some lawmakers, including Sen. Tom Wright, R- New Smyrna Beach, who accused a DeSantis official last month of producing no evidence that the drones pose a security risk. One approved drone caught fire in a deputy’s patrol vehicle, one law enforcement official testified. Many departments have already grounded their fleets, but they told lawmakers they’ve found the Florida-approved replacements far more expensive, much less capable, and in some cases dangerous. Police and other agencies have purchased an estimated $200 million in DJI drones over the years, according to one lawmaker, but under the rule, they can only use drones made by a handful of “approved manufacturers,” most of which are based in the U.S. The rule prohibits buying drones from a company in a “foreign country of concern.” In its latest attempt to stamp out foreign influence in Florida, the DeSantis administration is forbidding government agencies - including police, firefighters and mosquito control districts - from using drones manufactured by China-based Da Jiang Innovations, or DJI, by far the most popular drones in the world. Police departments across Florida are shelving millions of dollars in aerial drones because of a new Gov. Ron DeSantis administration rule that takes effect Wednesday.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |