In news that would be considered shocking if we weren’t so desensitized to stories regarding the increasingly militarized United States police force, North Dakota have just passed a bill which will see their police able to taser, tear gas and shoot people using rubber bullet guns with aerial drones, effectively allowing them to do so without putting themselves in danger.
While putting into place a law that keeps the police out of harms way and that would also encourage non-lethal dispersal of riotous crowds etc. would seem worthy of a thumbs up, there are a multitude of worrying events that could transpire from this new bill being passed.
For one, the concept of weaponized drones is terrifying in and of itself. Also, the anonymity they provide the user would mean that police can operate out of the eye of the general public and, more specifically, out of the reach of smartphones. We’ve become accustomed to police officers accused of brutality being caught on camera phones but then subsequently being let off the hook, with only that video evidence of them committing the crime serving as evidence in order to hold the police force to account. If the police can now taser, tear gas and rubber bullet civilians without fear of their faces being caught on camera, then how can anybody be held personally accountable?
The bill, titled House Bill 1328, was originally intended to ban drones from being equipped with any weapons, with it stating that police should also apply for a warrant in order to use them for surveillance purposes. However, the bill was amended before it was passed, allowing for less-than-lethal weapons to be carried by them such as tasers, tear gas and rubber bullet guns.
The new legislation was reported by The Daily Beast, who state that the bill was passed thanks to a “last-minute push” from a “pro-police lobbyist.” The bill’s Representative sponsor Rick Becker was disappointed by the changes made to it, saying: “This is one I’m not in full agreement with. I wish it was any weapon. In my opinion there should be a nice, red line: Drones should not be weaponized. Period.”
He added: “When you’re not on the ground, and you’re making decisions, you’re sort of separate. Depersonalized.”
On a less important note, this new bill has also made current drone owners in the state worried that they, too, will need to file for a warrant in order to use their flying devices, with it potentially creating some added loopholes for them in taking their drones to the sky. Which is a shame.
