Neighborhood Watch/ Surveillance : CAR CHASE of a suspected drug buyer with the EVO2 6k drone equipped with two 1500 lumen EDC spot lights.

[quinn karter]

---EDIT--- Video No Longer Available.---- Ignore the wording Neighborhood Watch and Surveillance: This was just used as an embellishment to get more people to take interest in the video and talk about the subject of surveillance even though that was not the original intent of the flight -END EDIT.
EDIT----Most if not all of the following post is an Embellishment and or Hearsay, a made up narrative to attract viewership. Nothing more than what the media does on a daily basis---While I was performing my usual "neighborhood watch/ surveillance" with an EVO2 6K drone, I spotted a suspicious vehicle, cruising up and down all the neighborhood streets. I flew near the car at an angle and hit them with the spotlights. They immediately decided to leave the neighborhood. They probably thought the drone was law enforcement. The police were contacted the first couple times I flew over my neighbors at night. They came to my house, we had words and they let the neighbors know, I wasn't doing anything wrong. The law abiding neighbors began to accept my almost nightly flights up and down the neighborhood roads--EDIT-- 2x per week nightly flights. I embellished, Just like the news media does. OOPs.. The drone eventually reduced the number of vehicles cruising our streets at night( EDIT- probably another embellishment). It also reduced the number of car break ins (embellishment). As the word got out that a drone was patrolling the neighborhood, the cars and riff raff that came through reduced. A rumor got started that the neighborhood is patrolled by a police drone. Now, when strangers in the neighborhood , wanting to buy drugs or break into parked cars, see the drone they bolt out of the neighborhood pretty quick. This video shows what happens when a suspected drug buyer is confronted with the drone at night. -ALL EMBELISHMENTS and or HEARSAY--FISH TAILS. editors apologies.

 

[SARty]

Appears to be a private video?

Also wondering if you'd mind sharing a bit about your light setup? Thanks.

 

[jcommstudios]

While I was performing my usual neighborhood watch/ surveillance with an EVO2 6K drone, I spotted a suspicious vehicle, cruising up and down all the neighborhood streets. I flew near the car at an angle and hit them with the spotlights. They immediately decided to leave the neighborhood. They probably thought the drone was law enforcement. The police were contacted the first couple times I flew over my neighbors at night. They came to my house, we had words and they let the neighbors know, I wasn't doing anything wrong. The law abiding neighbors began to accept my almost nightly flights up and down the neighborhood roads. The drone eventually reduced the number of vehicles cruising our streets at night. It also reduced the number of car break ins. As the word got out that a drone was patrolling the neighborhood, the cars and riff raff that came through reduced. A rumor got started that the neighborhood is patrolled by a police drone. Now, when strangers in the neighborhood , wanting to buy drugs or break into parked cars, see the drone they bolt out of the neighborhood pretty quick. This video shows what happens when a suspected drug buyer is confronted with the drone at night.

You might want to change the settings on YouTube for your video. It shows as private. Set it as "Unlisted" and anyone with the link can view it.

 

[kenautelevo2pro]

couple of questions:

1.why do you think you got a low video signal warning at 2000 feet distance; are you inside or outside?
2.do you have OA turned off and if so, why? does it not work well at night? look like in your AO you don't need it and you know the area pretty well as long as you stay above certain height.
3.are you able to turn the spotlights on/off remotely? it looks like you are adjusting the search angle in flight?
4.do you have external strobe lights on your drone? maybe red/green/BLUE? ?
5.are you familiar with dji spotlight mode and is there such a mode in autel? what will help for tracking so you don't have to try to fly manually?
6.do you have part 107 and if not, what will you tell the faa if they ask?
7.since everyone knows you, what will you do if the dealers coming knocking?
8.are you able to share what the police had to say when they came knocking?

 

[quinn karter]

It had three anti collision lights. It’s recreational. What would the Faa get involved for? No rule against night flight for recreational with anti collision lights is there? The police simply took all my info down and left. Who they submitted it to I don’t know. That was last year. Only my adjacent neighbors know it’s me. The signal problems occurred when I was flying below the taller trees in the area and wasn’t pointing the antenna directly at the drone, OR, I think I may have forgotten to turn on my aftermarket powered booster antenna. OOPs. I usually fly manually as I don’t trust the automated systems Autel has. No spot light mode either. I was flying in "ludicrous" mode. The light direction had to do with the tilt of the aircraft body relative to the gimbal stabilization

 

[quinn karter]

Light positions on sides of drone. They can be angled almost straight forward or straight down, by repositioning them on the heavy duty Velcro. No way to turn them on or of in flight

 

[kenautelevo2pro]

ok just curious about the setup you were using and how it was all going; thanks for the reply.

 

[JSTorsrud]

It had three anti collision lights. It’s recreational. What would the Faa get involved for? No rule against night flight for recreational with anti collision lights is there? The police simply took all my info down and left. Who they submitted it to I don’t know. That was last year. Only my adjacent neighbors know it’s me. The signal problems occurred when I was flying below the taller trees in the area and wasn’t pointing the antenna directly at the drone, OR, I think I may have forgotten to turn on my aftermarket powered booster antenna. OOPs. I usually fly manually as I don’t trust the automated systems Autel has. No spot light mode either. I was flying in "ludicrous" mode. The light direction had to do with the tilt of the aircraft body relative to the gimbal stabilization

Even for recreational flying, you still need to be in VLOS (visual line of sight)! That is one of the rules.

 

[quinn karter]

Where did you get the idea it wasn't in VLOS. My neighborhood is not very big and I was sitting on my SECOND STORY BALCONY above the trees. It did pass behind a few tree tops for a second, but I still had very good situational awareness. My house sits at the end of the neighborhood and the balcony overlooks all the homes and streets. If you want to really get nit picky, let me say this. If you ever decide to land you drone in a wooded area, you will lose vlos during the landing. Those drone fairies are sticklers when it comes to VLOS. Anyway, even the police know I can see my drone from my balcony, It's the tallest house in the neighborhood. That's why they don't have any issue with me flying around my small 5 block by 5 block sized neighborhood The average city block is about 300ft..

 

[UasDriver]

I was flying below the taller trees in the area

maybe this statement?

 

[Lexicon]

I’m sure your intentions are good and if you did deter a bad guy from committing a crime, that’s awesome. But, if you were flying around my neighborhood day or night and chasing cars I’d call the cops ASAP. Looking into peoples yards without their permission and lighting up their property is IMO a violation of privacy and not being a responsible drone pilot, commercial or recreational. Right now it seems like you’re flying with the mindset of “better to ask for forgiveness than permission.” If that’s the case then you’re intentionally doing something wrong.

 

[Kwok Wai]

Yes I would be very careful of peoples privacy.

Invasion of Privacy is the Focus of Florida’s Laws Concerning Drones

While there has been evidence that drones can cause physical damage to neighborhoods, Florida has concerns with the injury of invasion of privacy.

www.kogan-disalvo.com

 

[Lexicon]

Most of the time I simply hover high outside the neighborhood looking for cars cruising each and every street, hoping a dealer may step outside and make an exchange. Then, all I do is fly over to them and line up the spotlights on them. If the car stays put, i leave immediately, as this is a sign they may live in or have friends in the neighborhood. But when they run, I follow a little until they leave in the hopes they will think twice about coming back. If I cross over a few homes in the process so be it, it isn't against FAAs rules and it's obvious I DON'T HAVE THE INTENT of invading privacy. I also don't loitter over backyards. The police have , on occasion, actually "condoned" my intermittent neighborhood flights, now that they know what i'm actually looking for. You have no idea how many calls they get and how many arrests they make on the neighboring streets. None on my street though. Now, most of the neighbors know what i'm doing and like my flights as well. I have a good reputation with those that know me and the others by word of mouth. I'm sure the dealers aren't happy.So, I keep my house surrounded with high intensity lights and 6 wireless security cameras. The police haven't had to come in this neighborhood as often. The drone's lights in the sky simply create anxiety for those who have come here to steal or by drugs. It also makes the dealers nervous, because they can't tell if it's a police drone or my drone. I've talked to a lot of my neighbors, it's a small neighborhood. Most like the occasional drone flights I make; I don't do it every night. They say they feel safer when I'm doing it. Their kids love it too. They think it's cool. Even though you said, I may have the mindset of “better to ask for forgiveness than permission.”; In a sense i've already received forgiveness and now have permission by my community and peace officers. Maybe I should have asked for permission first, but I bet I wouldn't have gotten it, just by asking. I actually had to show them, and show them results I have and do. The flights are sort of like "intimidation" flights. I only bother the cars and the occasional pedestrian buyer. I leave the dealers homes alone and certainly don't loiter above the neighborhood. As I said I stay near the outer edge, until I see something not right. When the police helicopters has to fly over our neighborhood, trust me, it's a lot worse than my little drone.

That is all good! My suggestion would be to go to everyone in the neighborhood and leave a letter in their mailbox informing them of your intentions and receiving their blessing. It would be much better to have cooperation with your neighbors preventing any future issues.

 

[quinn karter]

That is all good! My suggestion would be to go to everyone in the neighborhood and leave a letter in their mailbox informing them of your intentions and receiving their blessing. It would be much better to have cooperation with your neighbors preventing any future issues.

I wish we could put fliers in peoples mailboxes, but I did that once and got a call from the post office saying it was a federal offense. I'd have to put flyers on cars or front doors I guess.

 

[jaja6009]

I fly for Public Safety and I have some mixed feelings on this.

1. We have never and most likely will never use drones for patrol. Currently we only fly to higher end incidents (already in progress police, fire and ems). I personally feel that there could be serious privacy issues brought up by people about a drone patrolling actively. This seems more in line with surveillance and would be a major issue that people would/could complain about.

2. You know your neighborhood better than anyone on this forum, but are you sure you actually have a drug buyer on video? I am not sure how the majority of people would react if as you put it "blinding lights" are being directed at me while I am driving my car.

3. "Blinding" lights being directed at moving cars does not seem to be safe. I am not sure if you are not opening yourself up to liability of some type of responsibility for causing an accident.

4. I know camera angles are deceiving, but are you sure you are not flying directly over moving vehicles?

5. Are you using liability insurance such as one of the On-Demand services? Something to think about. The more you fly over peoples property over and over the greater chance of a mishap that could include property damage or worse such as personal injury.

6. Be aware of using the drone to film above law enforcement while they are on scene in your neighborhood. They may not take kindly to "blinding" light on them on an incident.

I am not trying to be your mother, but these are just some things to think about.

Does your neighborhood have a Neighborhood Watch Program? If not I would truly try to form one with a meeting from law enforcement. There are various programs which your neighborhood could use to form a more organized and accepted program. National Neighborhood Watch | Crime prevention through neighborhood cohesiveness and collaboration
As mentioned once formed you could then inform all stakeholders in the area of your intentions to add a drone to protecting the neighborhood. It seems like you are truly trying to make your neighborhood a safer place, and who could argue about that. But I can see how people could become irritated by a drone flying up to their car and shining lights on it or lighting up your property at night. Some people do not like feeling as though they are being watched. Also keep in mind about the legal aspects of your video. We have a whole section in our Flight Manual about property rights, viewing rights and also the procedure for chain of custody if the drone records an actual crime.

And finally, you seem to be very close to not flying recreationally. If you are flying as a self neighborhood watch, I would say that you are not flying recreationally. You do not have to receive compensation to have to conduct flights under Part 107. You are stating yourself that you are patrolling the neighborhood and deterring crime so in my opinion (which could be wrong) you need to have a Part 107. Its not like you are flying to just grab some photos and video. Whose guidelines are you using to fly recreationally at night. I was under the assumption that if you flew recreationally at night, you needed to fly under something like the AMA's guidelines in regards to safety. Does your setup have anti-collision lighting also? White flashing at a rate to deter an accident and able to be seen from 3 statute miles? I do not know recreational at night rules too well, but in the name of safety, whether needed or not you should have the above mentioned anti-collision lights added too, especially if a police helicopter is known to travel the area.

Once again not trying to be your mom, just trying to add my 2 cents about things to consider.

 

[quinn karter]

OK everyone. I appreciate everyone's input. With all comments considered, I think I will discontinue this form of self entertainment. I actually did it because I found it more fun than anything. So now I am a bit nervous about it. I AM GOING TO REMOVE THE VIDEO LINK NOW. Feel free to talk about it, but I'm not leaving the video up any longer. Nor Shall I be performing this activity any longer.

 

[kenautelevo2pro]

OK everyone. I appreciate everyone's input. With all comments considered, I think I will discontinue this form of self entertainment. I actually did it because I found it more fun than anything. So now I am a bit nervous about it. I AM GOING TO REMOVE THE VIDEO LINK NOW. Feel free to talk about it, but I'm not leaving the video up any longer. Nor Shall I be performing this activity any longer.

remember way back in my post when I said I was "curious" but didn't want to make any assumptions and I didn't say anything but let someone post with question and you explained what you were doing. my only concern was what will you tell the faa if they come asking and from the posts, you can probably tell what faa might ask you. maybe you have a good explanation but just be aware of what faa might looking for. to be honest, screw what the neighbors think or the police or the community....I agree with you, they have no say. but if I were a drug dealer (and I'm not) and you were really hurting my business, I would put in a quick complaint to the faa and let's be honest, no way is the faa going to rubber stamp what you are doing. faa is not going to just come call, they have to be called. I think it's great what you are doing but let's be real....the majority of everybody else doesn't agree even if they say they are ok. a family could be doing nothing wrong and if they head out at night and get confronted and watched by a drone, that could be unsettling for some people. otherwise we would have drone patrol missions all over the country which we don't.

again, I don't mind it. however, I would be furious if I knew the police were carrying out drone patrols over and above my neighborhood on a routine basis. that is unacceptable and I have no expectation of privacy and I have nothing to hid but I would much rather prefer private business for example, if the neighborhood hired someone in an non-covert way. I don't live in such a neighborhood so it's hard for me to judge but if you feel your community needs protecting, then agreed do something....which you have done.

 

[Eagle's Eye Photo]

OK everyone. I appreciate everyone's input. With all comments considered, I think I will discontinue this form of self entertainment. I actually did it because I found it more fun than anything. So now I am a bit nervous about it. I AM GOING TO REMOVE THE VIDEO LINK NOW. Feel free to talk about it, but I'm not leaving the video up any longer. Nor Shall I be performing this activity any longer.

Truly for the best... there are so many ways a night of "patrols" could go South, so quickly.

 

[quinn karter]

A Bedtime Story--"Fun Flight Accidentally Films Drug Buy"-- I can't sleep so I'm writing this. It's fun. It might help me sleep. Maybe I'll fly my drone later. It's fun too. -- So, I'm sitting here and I can't sleep. Like usual. I'm bored. So, i say to myself. "You know what would be fun? Flying my drone right now at 2:15am." This might make me bored so I can sleep. And, it would be fun. So, I take my drone up into the air with anti-collision lights and ground spot lights (so I can see like I do during the day) as usual for fun. I can see the black bears and alligators better. So, I'm just flying around above my neighborhood, for fun ,because I can't fly beyond VLOS. Suddenly I see a strange car in the neighborhood. Then I say, watching the car on a public street would be fun. No bears to film yet. All the while not filming yet. Just bored, flying within VLOS, above my neighborhood, nothing else to look at, except that strange car on a public road for fun. Oh look, the car is driving up and down all the streets. That's strange. Maybe i'll go look at that part of the public street. It's safe, I can't blind a driver at 100 ft above at a steep angle. He would have to look up into the sky to see the bright lights. So I turn the drone, camera and lights which all move together in the direction of said car. While still looking for black bears. Oh, look at that, the car is driving away. It sure would be fun to fly to the side of the public street and follow him (off to the side) so I don't fly above any moving traffic. It's fun right. Just for fun. It must be recreational. It's fun. I have no documented surveillance reasons to be flying. I would never fly just to survey the neighborhood. I just happen to be there, because of VLOS and I am supposed to stay closer to my launch point at night according to the FAA, thus unable to leave the airspace above the neighborhood. Boy this is fun. Recreational hobby flying is fun. Darn, where are those black bears? I guess I'll take a few pictures of the street below for fun to show my friends how well my drone can see at night with spot lights. I can't help that their is a strange car in my view. Should I go over to a tree and take a picture of that? Nah, the car on the public street is more interesting at the moment. I can't get a pic of the actual person in the car or lic plate anyway. I'm too high. I can't get closer or lower because I'd lose VLOS. Ho hum, it's just me and my drone having fun, because I couldn't sleep. I have no formal declarations to surveil anyone or any part of my neighborhood. I'm just stuck here above it having fun, because I'm bored, can't sleep and have nothing else to do, while I wait to get sleepy again. HMMM, if I asked my neighbors if I could do voluntary surveillance of the neighborhood and for that reason only, that could be considered flying under 107. Not a good idea. I'll just keep flying for fun when I'm simply bored and can not sleep. I'll maintain VLOS and stay under 400ft, stay close by my home, stay above the streets so i don't crash on any houses, all the while staying in my neighborhood for fun. VLOS forced me to stay over my neighborhood, not my fault. I'm just having fun flying around at night. I also fly during the day to. With the same intent. Fun. I don't think I will show any video or pictures to my friends though. They may get the wrong idea of why I was flying. And I certainly won't title it "neighborhood watch/surveillance". That's very misleading. Maybe I'll title it, "Fun flight accidentally films drug buyer?" Maybe that'll be better. They may think my original intent wasn't for fun, or to help myself get tired, so I can go back to sleep. I just want to have some fun, instead of watching a crappy TV show. Drone flying is much more fun. My neighborhood is also surrounded by water canals. I can also have fun looking for alligators in the dark with their bright shiny eyes. The black bears too. They are a huge nuisance. They are always getting into everyone's trash cans. I can scare them off , if I see any. They hate my spot lights. Fun Fun.

 

[autelBill]

It had three anti collision lights. It’s recreational. What would the Faa get involved for? No rule against night flight for recreational with anti collision lights is there? The police simply took all my info down and left. Who they submitted it to I don’t know. That was last year. Only my adjacent neighbors know it’s me. The signal problems occurred when I was flying below the taller trees in the area and wasn’t pointing the antenna directly at the drone, OR, I think I may have forgotten to turn on my aftermarket powered booster antenna. OOPs. I usually fly manually as I don’t trust the automated systems Autel has. No spot light mode either. I was flying in "ludicrous" mode. The light direction had to do with the tilt of the aircraft body relative to the gimbal stabilization

I too have observed an obvious drug sale in my neighborhood, quite by accident. I chuckled.

Running freelance/vigilante neighborhood watch is not recreational flight. I can't speak for the FAA and I don't know what motivates them to investigate or prosecute.

Blinding drivers with spotlights is probably unwise, and at best, does not enhance the general reputation of UAV community pilots. Capitalizing on the assumption that your drone is operated by law enforcement, as you have articulated here, is an interesting activity that treads the boundary of impersonating the police. It is your privilege to push the envelope - until it isn't.

Cops know that they can't stop motorists without probable cause, i.e. articulable suspicion that a specific crime is afoot or imminent; case law on this is complex and murky but mind-reading does not qualify. I cruise streets just for entertainment in all kinds of neighborhoods for multiple reasons - exercising my rights as a US citizen. Sometimes I am scouting for suitable drone launch locations.

Based on your narrative, it seems that your relationship with the local police is nothing more than cordial. They could have you tagged as a wannabe or perhaps are just not interested. But be assured that your interaction has been documented and could bite you in the *** if some future mishap or conflict arises.

Perhaps you should let police do the policing.