Local police forces beginning to use unmanned drones


Cops in the Houston area may soon have an unmanned eye in the sky, assuming a secretive program gets the green light. A test flight of a 40-pound drone was captured by the cameras of a local news station even though the HPD tried to shoo away their TV helicopter by falsely claiming the airspace was restricted.

After the test was uncovered, the HPD hastily arranged a press conference where they outlined possible uses for the drones. When asked whether the drones would be used to ticket speeding vehicles from the sky, Executive Assistant HPD Chief Martha Montalvo said "I'm not ruling anything out".

If they do get deployed, I wonder how long it will be before some urban "duck hunters" start taking pot shots.