A family in Texas are outraged that local police hovered a drone over their back yard without warning.
The last thing Bobbie Sanchez expected to see when she walked out into her backyard last week, was a drone watching her children.
Sanchez said her privacy was violated when one of her children said “Mommy there’s a drone over our roof”
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The drone was hovering there long enough for the horrified Mother to take multiple photos and call the police for help.
Activist Post reports:
However, when Sanchez called the Hurst police department to inform them a drone was spying on her children, the Hurst police department said it was them.
“They’re watching my children play in the backyard,” said Sanchez. “I called the Hurst Police Department and was pretty surprised to hear that it was them.”
According to NBC DFW, Hurst police and fire started using drones earlier this year. They said the day they were over Sanchez’s yard was a training exercise.
Training, in the land of the free, now involves police officers stripping citizens of their privacy and creepily watching their kids.
Dystopian, indeed.
After being caught spying on children, the department now promises that they will tighten down on when and where the drones will be deployed.
“We will not be doing any type of training exercises over houses and things like that,” said Hurst Police Assistant Chief Steve Niekamp.
According to Niekamp, the department’s drones will now only launch of crime scenes, accident scenes, to find a suspect, an active shooter, or a missing person. The fire department may also use them to strategize on fighting fires.
“We’re working for our citizens, if they have concerns then we definitely need to address it,” said Niekamp in an obvious understatement.
When Sanchez’ neighbors got news of the drone they were outraged, naturally.
“It might be legal but it’s still creepy to think that police can be saying that they’re training or looking for a criminal and still be looking at you in your backyard,” said neighbor Casey Byrnes.
Others told NBC DFW that they feel betrayed and that their trust in police is damaged.
In a truly liberty-loving tone, Sanchez stated, “I am not a person who will give up privacy for safety.”
The use of drones in policing is a slippery slope. While fears of active shooters and missing children will be used to justify them, if history is any indicator, these drones will ultimately be used to further deteriorate what little semblance of privacy left in America.
