*Video* Is the San Diego government planning on using drones?
Austin Petersen
Teams of activists in favor of government transparency have been filing Freedom of Information Act (FOAI) requests to local governments in recent months. The groups Muckrock and the Electronic Freedom Foundation have filed over 200 requests seeking any information related to the use of drones in the United States. The groups requests turned up an interesting piece of evidence that shows the San Diego Sheriff’s Department apparently filed for a sales quote for a Scout UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) from drone manufacturer Datron World Communications.
The San Diego Sheriff’s Department has denied seeking such a quote, but after being confronted with the evidence they now refuse to comment on the situation. Some people are speculating that the drones will be used for enforcement of the War on Drugs. Reporters are claiming that much like the PATRIOT Act’s spying clauses, drones will be used to crack down on the privacy and civil liberties of American Citizens. The ACLU released an infographic recently that explains how less than one percent of the PATRIOT Acts warrantless wiretapping measures were used for terrorism. Are the domestic use of drones about to become another tool of enforcement for the national security state? Will the American people stand up against unconstitutional searches or will they let it slide?
