Connecticut cops may become the first in the country to use drones armed with deadly weapons, if a controversial measure is passed.
A bill that easily flew through the state’s Judiciary Committee 34-7 was sent to the House of Representatives, the New Haven Register reported.
“Obviously, this is for very limited circumstances,” said Republican state Sen. John Kissel, co-chairman of the committee. “We can certainly envision some incident on some campus or someplace where someone is a rogue shooter or someone was kidnapped and you try to blow out a tire.”
Details on how law enforcement would use the weaponized drones would be spelled out in rules to be developed by the state Police Officer Standards and Training Council.
Cops would have to be trained before being allowed to use drones with deadly weapons.
North Dakota is the only state that allows law enforcement to use weaponized drones — but only permits “less lethal” weapons, such as stun guns, rubber bullets and tear gas.
Five states — Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, Vermont and Wisconsin — prohibit anyone from using a weaponized drone, while Maine and Virginia ban police from using them, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
“We have huge concerns that they would use this new technology to abuse our communities,” said Scot X. Esdaile, president of state chapter of the NAACP.
He said NAACP officials and others from around the country have expressed their concerns about the legislation in Connecticut, where three police agencies — Hartford, Plainfield and Woodbury — began using drones in the past year.
“We would be setting a dangerous precedent,” said David McGuire, executive director of the state ACLU. “It is really concerning and outrageous that that’s being considered in our state legislature. Lethal force raises this to a level of real heightened concern.”
“We’re not in warfare here,” McGuire told CBS New York.
McGuire said arming drones with deadly weapons or riot deterrents such as tear gas would make it much easier for a cop to use force.
“There’s a level of separation that makes it almost video game-like where they’re detached from the actual situation,” he said.
But the bill also includes restrictions on drone use and reporting requirements that the ACLU supports.
It would require police to get a warrant before using a drone — unless there is an emergency — and would require police to report yearly on how often they use drones and why.
It also would create new crimes and penalties for criminal use of drones, including voyeurism.
“I think that police are taught one thing,” said Democratic Bridgeport Sen. Edwin Gomes. “You put a weapon in their hand, they shoot center mass, they shoot to kill. If it’s going to be used, you’re going to use it to kill somebody.”