The Record: The NYPD is sending more drones to 911 calls, but privacy advocates don’t like the view

The Record: The NYPD is sending more drones to 911 calls, but privacy advocates don’t like the view by Suzanne Smalley (“City officials say the so-called drones as first responders (DFR) program is making New York safer, but civil liberties and privacy advocates argue that police have not been transparent about operations that allow law enforcement sweeping surveillance capabilities that could easily be abused … Law enforcement agencies deploying DFRs are taking advantage of a lack of legal precedent, said Sidney Thaxter, a senior litigator at the Fourth Amendment Center at the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. While there is case law saying that people have no reasonable right to privacy in their backyard when being observed by a helicopter, courts have not yet ruled on aerial privacy rights under drones, he said. Drones are far smaller, quieter and less noticeable than helicopters, making the court rulings outdated, Thaxter said.”)