Predator Drone Sends ND Man to Jail

[Holly_Hobby]

(Well, that didn't take long)

What do you say to a drone that makes an arrest? “Book him, Predator?”

This was no joke for a North Dakota family who were arrested with the assistance of a Predator drone. Rodney Brossart was sentenced to three years in prison, of which all but six months was suspended, for a June 2011 incident in which police attempted to arrest him over his failure to return three cows from a neighboring farm that had strayed on to his property.

After Brossart was arrested, an armed standoff ensued between his three sons and a SWAT team. His sons were located by a border-surveillance Predator borrowed from Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), which enabled local police to safely apprehend them, according to local newspapers.

A federal judge rejected a motion by Brossart’s attorney to dismiss the case on the ground that the drone surveillance was conducted without a warrant. On January 14, a jury found Brossart guilty of terrorizing police, though he was acquitted of theft and criminal mischief. Brossart’s sons pled guilty to charges of menacing law enforcement officers, and were sentenced to a year of probation.

...

http://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelpeck/2014/01/27/predator-drone-sends-north-dakota-man-to-jail/

[leftyohiolib]

1. and i for one welcome our new drone overlords

[CFLDem]

2. Sucks to be a non white collar criminal these days

[LiberalEsto]

3. So drone spying doesn't require a warrant

That's a terrible precedent

Eventually they will have very tiny drones that can slip into our homes and spy on every word we say, everything we do.

I fervently hope the courts can set some limits on this drone spying.

[geek tragedy]

6. no more than airplane spying or hot air balloon spying, which is to say none nt

[magical thyme]

11. time will tell. In NM, it was ruled unconstitutional.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —Police searches from the sky are now being called illegal and unconstitutional, unless investigators have a warrant, according to a New Mexico Appeals Court ruling....

.... "Our constitution, our law, offers more protection than the U.S. constitution," said attorney Molly Schmidt-Nowara. "What the court seems to be saying is that you have an expectation that the police aren't going to be surveilling your house."

Davis, 78, was arrested for possession of marijuana but his record was later cleared. He told the Journal he's "happy that justice was served."

Read more: http://www.koat.com/news/new-mexico/albuquerque/judge-rules-aerial-surveillance-without-warrant-unconstitutional/-/9153728/24046414/-/13ypdms/-/index.html#ixzz2rtmvaZqW

[democratisphere]

4. The Drone Police have arrived.

Privacy and rights keep going away.

[LiberalArkie]

5. At least common sense prevailed and they did not send in swat to kill them all.

[geek tragedy]

7. This idiot got himself sent to jail for pointing his gun at cops

The drone merely helped the cops figure out where the guy was.

There is zero zero zero constitutional right to privacy when you're outside and in an armed confrontation with police. The police legally can use a helicopter, a satellie, an airplane, a hot air balloon, or a drone to assist in such circumstances. And there's really no need to change that legal reality.

[okaawhatever]

9. Agreed. It is one of the few good uses for the drones. I do think surveillance drones will help with

things like finding lost hikers, situations like Ruby Ridge or patrolling the oceans for drug boats. I do think a warrant should be issued for the use, but not all technology is bad.

[PowerToThePeople]

8. Sounds like an NRA loving tea-bagger type

[tammywammy]

10. I don't see the difference in this case between using a drone and a helicopter.

The police wouldn't have needed a warrant to fly a helicopter and look for them.