WASHINGTON — They’ve produced breathtaking visuals of the protests in Hong Kong. They’ve been used to search for missing University of Virginia student Hannah Graham. As they become more sophisticated and less expensive, the use of drones seems inevitable.
But who decides when and how they take off? And how can privacy be preserved?
“We need to use drones,” says Montgomery County councilmember Roger Berliner, who sees the lifesaving potential of the unmanned aerial vehicles as their primary benefit. Berliner says police and firefighters should be able to use them “anytime where our police chief or fire chief says ‘We can save a life here.’ We have to be able to do that.”
But Berliner wants to make sure the use of the new aerial tools is restricted to the most critical needs of both police and fire department officials. A resolution on the use of drones has been drawn up after the members of the county council’s Public Safety Committee discovered that Montgomery County had already purchased four: three in the Fire and Rescue Service and one in the office of Dan Hoffman, the county’s Chief Innovation Officer.
In a committee meeting Thursday morning, Berliner, chair Phil Andrews and councilmember Marc Elrich discussed the resolution that would make clear drones would be used only in the role of life-saving tool. The resolution would apply to the police as well as the fire department.
Elrich wasn’t convinced, “I’m not sure I would want to encourage the police use for it.”
Elrich drew a distinction between police and fire use of drones, saying the fire department could use drones to get views of fires and hazardous material sites they couldn’t otherwise. But when it comes to policing, Elrich said he had real reservations. In part, because Montgomery County Police Chief Tom Manger was cool to the idea of using drones, citing the controversy — and possible constitutional and legal pitfalls they present.
But Elrich also said the mission of police, to gather information for criminal investigations, is inherently different from firefighting. “I get the fire department use. And I’d like to encourage it. I’m not sure I’d want to encourage at this point, the police use.”
Elrich said the new tools could invite the potential for police abuse. Private use was also a concern Elrich talked about.
Speaking of drones in private hands, Elrich said, “This is being treated almost like it’s a toy.” Pausing briefly, he said, “I like toys. I’m really tempted to go out and get a drone because I can picture it flying around and doing cool stuff with it.”
But Elrich said there’s a flip side to the beneficial and entertaining use of drones, “I see room for lots and lots of mischief.”
The council resolution will go to the full council for consideration. A date for a hearing has not yet been set.
The language of the resolution can be found here.
WTOP’s Kate Ryan contributed to this report. Follow @WTOP on Twitter and on the WTOP Facebook page.
