Kentucky Judge: Yes, people can shoot down drones flying over their land

[theguru]

He believed it was spying on his 16-year-old daughter who was sunbathing in the garden. So he took out his shotgun and blasted the drone out of the sky. He was arrested for wanton endangerment and criminal mischief.

 

Now a Kentucky court has declared Merideth an innocent man. Bullitt County District Court Judge Rebecca Ward on Monday dismissed all charges against Merideth, reported local TV station WDRB-TV.

 

The drone’s owner, David Boggs, had produced flight data that insisted his machine had been flying higher than Merideth had claimed.

 

The judge, however, seems not a fan of big data. She’s a woman of the people. She declared that two human witnesses saw the drone below the tree line. This evidence was, to her, conclusive. To her, this was an invasion of Merideth’s privacy.

 

Kentucky Judge: Yes, people can shoot down drones flying over their land | Poor Richard's News

[Getslow]

Bullitt County judges... you never know what's going to happen next.

[theguru]

Bullitt County judges... you never know what's going to happen next.

 

I am glad to see the decision because it will force the powers that be to address this privacy issue.

[halfback20]

I like the fact that it's ok, if someone is spying on you. However, I'd be interested in learning more about the data on the drone and how accurate it is in regards to its height. Eye witnesses are not always reliable.

[Getslow]

I am glad to see the decision because it will force the powers that be to address this privacy issue.

 

I wouldn't want the thing flying over my land, I can tell you.

 

Not upset with the decision... but I'll never miss a chance to take a swipe at a Bullitt County judge. So many bad experiences down there I don't practice in that county anymore.

[theguru]

I wouldn't want the thing flying over my land, I can tell you.

 

Not upset with the decision... but I'll never miss a chance to take a swipe at a Bullitt County judge. So many bad experiences down there I don't practice in that county anymore.

 

I understand exactly what you mean, some Judges/Counties have their own brand of justice.

[Jumper_Dad]

On the other side of this discussion, not every hobbyist with a quad rotar copter is a spying pervert either.

There are some fantastic videos on YouTube people have taken of their communities, parks and other public areas taken from quads.

 

I understand if it's hovering over your pool and you wife and daughter are sunbathing, but if it's going from point a to b and crosses your property what is the issue?

 

Can we shoot down the neighbor kids kite if the wind blows it over our property and we think it might have a GoPro? How about the sheriff's dept helicopter hovering over our property while surveilling a drug house a mile away, can we shoot it down?

[Jim Schue]

I wouldn't want the thing flying over my land, I can tell you.

 

Not upset with the decision... but I'll never miss a chance to take a swipe at a Bullitt County judge. So many bad experiences down there I don't practice in that county anymore.

 

I understand exactly what you mean, some Judges/Counties have their own brand of justice.

 

Bullitt County is the Wild West.

[AverageJoesGym]

On the other side of this discussion, not every hobbyist with a quad rotar copter is a spying pervert either.

There are some fantastic videos on YouTube people have taken of their communities, parks and other public areas taken from quads.

 

I understand if it's hovering over your pool and you wife and daughter are sunbathing, but if it's going from point a to b and crosses your property what is the issue?

 

Can we shoot down the neighbor kids kite if the wind blows it over our property and we think it might have a GoPro? How about the sheriff's dept helicopter hovering over our property while surveilling a drug house a mile away, can we shoot it down?

 

I think shooting at a manned aircraft is illegal everywhere.

[Jumper_Dad]

I think shooting at a manned aircraft is illegal everywhere.

 

Yeah I know...but you know not everyone thinks that way.

[Bluegrasscard]

I like the fact that it's ok, if someone is spying on you. However, I'd be interested in learning more about the data on the drone and how accurate it is in regards to its height. Eye witnesses are not always reliable.

 

Anything in digital format is not reliable either. If its digital, its manipulatable.

[SportsGuy41017]

I don't like the decision of the judge, you just can't go shooting at things in the air.

 

I would take the data of the quad vs an eye witness, and of a neighbor? he may have a beef with the neighbor as well.

[okie1]

If he actually shot it down with a shotgun, then it had to be fairly low correct...I mean I duck hunt, and they have to get pretty close before you can hit them...

[TAC]

Did this happen in the county or the city? If it is Illegal to discharge a firearm in the city would this ruling overrule that law?

[formerkywrestler]

If he actually shot it down with a shotgun, then it had to be fairly low correct...I mean I duck hunt, and they have to get pretty close before you can hit them...

 

That's a good point. Within any range that a normal person could shoot it down I would think the drone is flying too close...