Law Enforcement Drones: Connecticut Lawmakers Considering Legislation Limiting Police Use Of Drones

Law enforcement officials and lawmakers in Connecticut are arguing in the state’s capital this week over the use of armed drones for policing purposes, WTIC-TV in Hartford reported.

Lawmakers Monday came to Hartford to discuss a ban on civilians weaponizing drones. Tuesday, lawmakers came together to discuss a separate bill to limit the use of drones by civilians and police, including a limit on using drones with mounted cameras after concerns about privacy were raised.

The legislation would force police to get a warrant before using a drone in many instances. While privacy rights were a big concern, police said that using drones could help them in their duties and make the public safer.

"We've had a report that somebody's going to fly a drone into an airplane, into an engine, or it's a weaponized drone," Farmington Police Chief Paul Melanson said, according to WTIC-TV. "We're concerned, and we don't have those answers yet."

The American Civil Liberties Union testified in favor of a bill that would increase the privacy rights of Connecticut residents. About 15 states already have laws on the books to force police to get a warrant before using surveillance drones.

“Whether police are using a technology that is one hundred years or one hundred days old, people need and deserve to have their rights protected. Just as it is unconstitutional for a police officer to walk through your house without a warrant, it should be unconstitutional for police to videotape your family by sending a drone up to your window,” David McGuire, legislative and policy director for the ACLU of Connecticut, said in a statement.

During Monday’s session, a Connecticut teen whose viral videos of him equipping drones with handguns and a flamethrower helped re-ignite the drone debate in the state testified against the bills. Austin Haughwout said during his short testimony it would prevent the mounting of weapons on drones as a hobby, the Hartford Courant reported.