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Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Police departments want drones after HPD test

KPRC 2's Stephen Dean reports that the Houston Police Department has been testing unmanned aircrafts and now other police departments want a drone too:

The investigative team from KPRC-TV, owned by Post Newsweek Stations (A Washington Post company), had camera crews hidden in bushes, hidden in cars and neighboring properties, and a news helicopter was hidden nearby to jump into action when police launched a drone test. The Houston Police Department invited law enforcement personnel and other dignitaries from all over Texas but the invitation was marked, "No Media Allowed."

Those dignitaries and police gathered around a launchpad and a large truck with revolving radar in the middle of a farm field about 70 miles northwest of Houston. Then, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) known as the Scan Eagle from Boeing's subsidiary "Insitu" was launched into the sky.

Police cars had blocked the country driveway with officers manning a checkpoint to carefully verify that those entering were invited. Then, after the launch, when police saw KPRC-TV's cameras emerge and helicopter take flight, officers threatened the news crews by saying a no fly zone was in place, which was false. READ THE REST


UPDATE
@theArquebusier sent me this hilarious clip from NPR about 'unmanned drones.' Let's say it caused me to do some quick revisions. CONTACT: Leave me a Houston or Texas media news tip | COMMENT: Click to leave your thoughts on this post here