FEDS BUYING TASER DRONES FOR COPS
Police will fly the ShadowHawk Drone with nothing more than a laptop computer and a remote control similar to that used for video games. It’s equipped with an infrared camera that can clearly read a license plate from an elevation of twelve hundred feet. The helicopter cost upwards of $300,000 and was purchased with a grant from the federal government. Vanguard Defense Industries built the helicopter. The company has also supplied these drones to US forces over seas. Critics argue the drone-like vehicle isn’t safe, because it’s unmanned. “I gotta tell you, it sort of looks like boys and their toys, ” said Terri Burke, Executive Director of the ACLU of Texas. “We’re giving up our privacy, we’re letting the government have way too much power.” The ACLU is concerned that technology used by law enforcement officials in general is getting ahead of people’s privacy. No one has complained to the ACLU about the Montgomery County helicopter, but some fear it could be used to spy on people. “The Constitution spells out very clearly that we have a right to privacy, ” Burke said.
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