Drones in North Dakota need a police warrant for surveillance use, but they can also be weaponized, thanks to a new law.
The law explicitly prohibits “any lethal weapons,” which allows “less than lethal” weapons such as rubber bullets, Tasers, pepper spray, and others, the Daily Beast noted. The original wording of the bill would have prohibited all weapons.
A police union in North Dakota helped weaken the prohibition on all weapons.
State Representative Rick Becker, the bill’s Republican sponsor, wanted stronger limitations.
“In my opinion there should be a nice, red line: Drones should not be weaponized. Period,” he said.
Due to the influence of police unions and a mentality of “excuse everything in the name of security,” ever-creeping police militarization since 9/11 has been politically difficult to stop.
Local law enforcement agencies, once they get equipment, tend to find justifications for its use.
Even when state law prohibits certain uses, requires disclosure, or leaves the question in a legal gray area, the technology gets used regardless.
Grand Forks County Sheriff Bob Rost has opposed Becker’s bill from the beginning, claiming that the sheriff’s department shouldn’t need a warrant to conduct drone surveillance. The department has proved reluctant to disclose their use of drones, stonewalling the Daily Beast when they tried to obtain records concerning drones.
Law enforcement agencies, from mass surveillance to militarization to police abuse investigations, have shown themselves to obscure information when convenient.
The fight in North Dakota against regulation and oversight concerning drones, threatens public safety by making it more difficult for the public to guard against abuse of power.
