Neighbor Shoots Down Drone

@Thumperchick It is definitely a hot button topic which invokes emotional responses from all sides.

Personally, I recognize that I have to live with my neighbors, so I avoid flying in my neighborhood. I opt, instead, to go to the local schoolyard. I prefer to fly in the early morning when few people are out and therefore there are fewer people potentially offended. Although I know I have a right to fly, and even a right to record video... technically even over your yard... I choose not to. I believe the fewer waves I make, the more accepting the community will be of my hobby.

Some people take it entirely too far though...

Woman Faces A Year In Jail For Beating Drone Operator, Assault Caught On Video

Flying drones for hobbyist purposes is mostly legal, but not everybody seems to understand that. Some say ridiculous things like “If a drone is flying over me, I’ll shoot it down.” Others get so worked up that they take the law into their own hands.

Take for example, Andrea Mears, a 23 year old woman in Connecticuit who allegedly didn’t like the fact that Austin Haughwout was flying his drone (also known as a remote controlled quadcopter) at the beach.

According to Haughwout, he went to Hammonasset State Park in Madison, Connecticuit to fly his remote control quadcopter. Soon after landing on his last of four flights, an angry woman, later identified as Mears approached him. Mears was on the phone with the police, attempting to get them to respond to the flight by claiming that Haughwout was “here taking pictures at the beach with a helicopter plane.”

That statement, and the subsequent assault were captured on video by Haughwout, who used his phone’s camera to document the alleged assault.

On the video Mears is clearly shown attacking Haughwout. She rips his shirt, holds him down, attempts to scratch his face and puts her fingers in his mouth. At one point she yells, “I’m going to beat your ass you little motherfucker.” Haughwout is heard screaming for help, asking other people to call 911 and report the assault. Eventually Mears leaves Haughwout alone, giving him enough time to call the police to report the assault.

According to Haughwout, the police responded to the assault in 10 or more vehicles. They first listened to her story in which she claimed Haughwout assaulted her, that he “was taking close ups of people in bikinis” and that she had asked Haughwout to stop flying before calling the police, but he refused.

After hearing her side of the story, the police approached, clearly intending to arrest Haughwout. However, before they could place him under arrest he told the police that he recorded the entire incident. Haughwout stated, “I had video evidence that she went nuts completely unprovoked, and was the one that assaulted me.” He explained how he showed the police the video from his last flight “which proved that she lied when claiming that she asked me to stop flying before calling the police.” Haughwout provided copies of the videos to the police for their use in the case against her.

Mears is charged with Assault in the 3rd Degree and Breach of Peace in the 2nd Degree. The Assault charge carries with it a punishment of up to one year in jail and a $2,000 fine, while the Breach of the Peace charge carries with it a punishment of up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

@ruouttaurmind assaulting people for doing things you don't like is crazy.