“It can’t be bargained with. It can’t be reasoned with. It doesn’t feel pity, or remorse, or fear….”
So you remember the last time you got ticketed by a flying red light drone? Don’t worry… you will.
“It’s great,” he said while speaking on WTOP’s “Ask the Governor” program. “If you’re keeping police officers safe, making it more productive and saving money…it’s absolutely the right thing to do.”
A proposal to purchase drones hasn’t yet reached his desk, he says, but state law enforcement agencies are looking for the the most current ways to fight crime.
That sentiment was echoed last month by David Rohrer, chief of police for Fairfax County, one of the state’s most affluent areas.
“Drones will certainly have a purpose and a reason to be in this region in the next, coming years,” hetold WTOP. “Just as a standpoint as an alternative for spotting traffic and sending information back to our VDOT Smart Traffic centers, and being able to observe backups.”
Now never mind that there are serious constitutional problems to red light cameras in the first place. Who the hell wants to give government the right to fly a drone over your home? Attaching a red light camera to one of those bad boys? Performing surveillance and other activities?
Really?
At what point does 2012 look more and more like 1984?
Governor McDonnell and I probably agree on about 90-95% of all issues… but this is a bridge waaaay too far. A bridge ostensibly patrolled by drones, so it would seem.
UPDATE: Here’s a brief statement from the Governor’s Office regarding the use of drones in Virginia:
“Virginia is continually exploring law enforcement technology and techniques that can keep citizens and officers safe while making it more cost effective to conduct law enforcement activities. State Police do not currently use drones for law enforcement activities. If State Police were to add drones to its law enforcement tools, Virginia would consider policy and legal issues surrounding their use at that time.”
Which reminds me… you guys ever see RoboCop? Of course you have. You guys ever see the ED-209? Remember the guy who got blasted in the board room?
Mr. Kenney doesn’t like drones.
