Drones Against Civilians

RT
March 15, 2012

Law enforcement near Houston, Texas will soon have a $300,000 robotic surveillance drone in their arsenal, and if Montgomery County’s chief deputy has his say, it’s only a matter of time before that aircraft will be equipped to fire from above.

Discussing a new deal that will give the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office near Houston, Texas an unmanned, robotic spy drone, Chief Deputy Randy McDaniel tells The Daily that he hasn’t rule out adding weaponry to the lightweight aircraft.

The deputy says that while the department doesn’t have any plans at the moment to acquire an army of drones equipped with weapons, he opines that it could be advantageous for some endeavors.

On the topic of tacking a tear gas dispenser or a firearm that shoots non-lethal rubber bullets, McDaniel says it could eventually be an idea the department decides to go with.

“Those are things that law enforcement utilizes day in and day out and in certain situations it might be advantageous to have this type of system on the UAV,” McDaniel tells The Daily, referring to the unmanned aerial vehicle the agency recently acquired.

While Montgomery County will soon have one new set of eyes in its skies thanks to acquiring a pricey ShadowHawk drone, it is hardly the only small-time town that is getting such gizmos.

Surveillance drones are already used across the southern United States and the US Department of Homeland Security has acknowledged that it has had a fleet of drones for watching its borders for years.