Boston police now want drones hovering over next year's marathon: [View all]

Drones ‏@drones 19m

Boston police now want drones hovering over next year's marathon:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/apr/24/boston-police-want-drones-for-marathon-security/ …


Boston’s top cop wants drones hovering over next year’s marathon, but getting his hands on one may be easier said than done.

More than 30 states, including Massachusetts, are rushing to restrict the use of drones by law enforcement, with some seeking to ban it in all but the most extreme circumstances.

Even if unmanned aerial systems could have shortened the search for the terrorists who wreaked havoc on Boston last week, many people are deeply skeptical about giving authorities carte blanche to use potentially dangerous technology.

“It’s not surprising that you have law enforcement agencies rushing out to use [the Boston bombing and subsequent manhunt] as pretext to secure additional powers but I think we have to maintain perspective and realize that civil liberties and the protections we’re granted under the Constitution and our rights to privacy, to a degree, are nonnegotiable,” said Massachusetts state Sen. Robert Hedlund, a Republican and sponsor of a drone restriction bill in the legislature.

(More at the link.)