'Not well-received': Connecticut police department scraps 'pandemic drone' program after outcry

[Right_in_Virginia]

'Not well-received': Connecticut police department scraps 'pandemic drone' program after outcry
Washington Examiner, Apr 25, 2020

A police department’s plan to use “pandemic drones” crashed and burned before it could even take off.

The Westport Police Department, located in Connecticut’s hardest-hit county of Fairfield, has abandoned its idea to use high-tech drones that can detect symptoms of coronavirus infection from up to 190 feet away. The backtracking came after people expressed privacy concerns about the program.

On Thursday, Police Chief Foti Koskinas and First Selectman Jim Marpe said the drone surveillance plan would not come to fruition because it was “not well-received,” according to Westport News.

“In our good faith effort to get ahead of the virus and potential need to manage and safely monitor crowds and social distancing in this environment, our announcement was perhaps misinterpreted, not well-received, and posed many additional questions,” Marpe said in a statement.

“We heard and respect your concerns and are therefore stepping back and reconsidering the full impact of the technology and its use in law enforcement protocol,” he added.

David McGuire, the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut’s executive director, said that the focus should not be on using drones but rather providing adequate healthcare during the coronavirus pandemic.

“We are not hearing a cry for new surveillance technologies,” McGuire said. “The urgent need at the moment, according to public health experts, is to ramp up testing capability, suppress transmission through social distancing measures, and support our hospitals as they face an influx of patients.”


More:  https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/not-well-received-connecticut-police-department-scraps-pandemic-drone-program-after-outcry

[Smokin Joe]

A mannequin with a light bulb would bring one in, but would that be shooting over bait?

[jmyrlefuller]

The politicians are actually starting to listen. That's a sure sign the virus is on the downslope.

[PeteS in CA]

There should be more than the usual number of Super Soakers and paint ball guns available Westport, CT yard sales the next summer or two.

[Smokin Joe]

The politicians are actually starting to listen. That's a sure sign the virus is on the downslope.

Or the politicians are.

[PeteS in CA]

The politicians are actually starting to listen. That's a sure sign the virus is on the downslope.

Probably heat helping pols see the light.

[catfish1957]

There should be more than the usual number of Super Soakers and paint ball guns available Westport, CT yard sales the next summer or two.

As far as I am concerned, everything under the 400 foot FAA airspace criteria  above my property is my property. 

Drones can enter at their own risk.