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> Law enforcement officers could only use drones while executing a search warrant or if they had probable cause to believe someone is committing a felony, and f

> Law enforcement officers could only use drones while executing a search warrant or if they had probable cause to believe someone is committing a felony, and firefighters can only use drones for fighting fire or to rescue a person whose life is “in imminent danger.” Texas’ border-patrolling Predator drones are exempt within 25 miles of the Mexican border. There are additional penalties for possession, display or distribution of data captured by an illegally flown drone. Gooden said the goal is to protect Texans’ privacy. http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2013-02/privacy-and-drones http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2013-02/privacy-and...

largesse 14y ago
The "probable cause" exemption is bullshit. If you have probable cause, get a warrant. No patrols, no police drone leaves the ground without a warrant targeting a specific person or group.
- jasonwocky 14y ago
  Depending on the details, the "probable cause that someone is committing a felony" exemption is common to law enforcement. Exigent circumstances. If a police officer hears signs of a struggle in your house, he doesn't have to get a judge to sign a warrant before he kicks the door down.
  - mattstreet 14y ago
    But the way that gets used seems to be the officer somehow smells pot on every damn person they want to violate.
    - bmelton 14y ago
      It's interesting you bring that up, as whether or not a drug-sniffing dog's alert is considered grounds for determining probable cause was recently tested by the Supreme Court. I won't bore you with the full explanation of who won or why, but what I found interesting is that the dog's past performance comes in to play, the results of their testing, time in the field, etc. Also, the k-9 (human) officers are supposed to keep a record of their results to be provided should this come into question (which raises all sorts of things about false positives, false negatives, etc., due to ignored reporting of incidents that didn't otherwise generate paperwork). I'm wondering now if there shouldn't be some similar standard of proof for police officers. I've never had the "smells like pot in there" pulled on me for any reason, but I almost hope that it happens at some point so that I can poll the officer's record to see how many times he's used that line as probable cause and what the feasibility of that is.
      - mattstreet 14y ago
        http://reason.com/archives/2013/01/31/this-dog-can-send-you-to-jail http://reason.com/archives/2013/01/31/this-dog-can-send-you-...
  - largesse 14y ago
    That's why I said "no patrols." A drone shouldn't just be flying around waiting to see something. It should be sent only after there is a warrant.

largesse 14y ago

The "probable cause" exemption is bullshit. If you have probable cause, get a warrant. No patrols, no police drone leaves the ground without a warrant targeting a specific person or group.

jasonwocky 14y ago
Depending on the details, the "probable cause that someone is committing a felony" exemption is common to law enforcement. Exigent circumstances. If a police officer hears signs of a struggle in your house, he doesn't have to get a judge to sign a warrant before he kicks the door down.
- mattstreet 14y ago
  But the way that gets used seems to be the officer somehow smells pot on every damn person they want to violate.
  - bmelton 14y ago
    It's interesting you bring that up, as whether or not a drug-sniffing dog's alert is considered grounds for determining probable cause was recently tested by the Supreme Court. I won't bore you with the full explanation of who won or why, but what I found interesting is that the dog's past performance comes in to play, the results of their testing, time in the field, etc. Also, the k-9 (human) officers are supposed to keep a record of their results to be provided should this come into question (which raises all sorts of things about false positives, false negatives, etc., due to ignored reporting of incidents that didn't otherwise generate paperwork). I'm wondering now if there shouldn't be some similar standard of proof for police officers. I've never had the "smells like pot in there" pulled on me for any reason, but I almost hope that it happens at some point so that I can poll the officer's record to see how many times he's used that line as probable cause and what the feasibility of that is.
    - mattstreet 14y ago
      http://reason.com/archives/2013/01/31/this-dog-can-send-you-to-jail http://reason.com/archives/2013/01/31/this-dog-can-send-you-...
- largesse 14y ago
  That's why I said "no patrols." A drone shouldn't just be flying around waiting to see something. It should be sent only after there is a warrant.