The evidence of the crime was well established long before the drone was used to locate him.
No significant new legal issue here.
what do you mean, "I don't think that the case will take off."?
Why would someone NOT be able to keep cows on a 3000 acre tract?
Why would someone shoot at police????
how about "invasive" technology? How about "military" technology?
oh, idunno, cuz words matter?
Greaaaaaat. Now they've criminalized scaring your Sheriff.
I imagine he's going to claim this is a violation of his Fourth Amendment rights. SCOTUS has held that 4A limits use of technology not in widespread use by the public. So, a cop walking by on your street who wears glasses and sees what appears to be a dead body through your front window, ok; extremely expensive thermal imagers to see that the roof over your third bedroom is way hotter than the rest of the house and you might be growing pot, no. But IMO he's going to have a hard time making that case because that's for warrantless, pre probable cause searches. If police have PC and a warrant, they can use pretty sophisticated tools looking for evidence. Plus in this case they'll probably claim officer safety as well, since he chased them off with guns.
Well, that plan worked.
From the article;
Currently, about 300 law enforcement agencies and research institutions—including the Grand Forks SWAT team—have “temporary licenses” from the FAA to use drones. Currently, drones are most commonly used by Homeland Security along America’s borders.
Did he think the cows were sent by the government? Were these cows USDA Grade A?
This story seems more comical than insidious. Use of a drone in this circumstance doesn't mean any more than if they used a helicopter. The event in question occurred before the use of surveillance, not vice versa.
i.e., if the drone spotted him collecting cows and, with only that information, sent the cops in, you'd have a case here.
Target practice?
Deu 22:1 Thou shalt not see thy brother’s ox or his sheep go astray, and hide thyself from them: thou shalt in any case bring them again unto thy brother.
In any case, it sure goes to prove that these folks will spend all the taxpayer money they like when someone resists their "awe-thar-i-taaaay".
This is a perfect example of “Mission Creep!” what was first used as an example of “anti-terror” is now being used for local police to apprehend private Americans!
Where do Americans draw the line or rein in government overreach or abuse? Some Americans like the use of government power to accomplish somethings in our society, but not in others, but, where do we draw that line to stop government overreach?
It is a very slippery slope
Armed Predator drone flying around Chicago
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzrS0BVJynM