Cow Thief Is First American Arrested, Jailed With Drone’s Help

The cow snatcher case was not dismissed on the grounds that there was no warrant for drone surveillance: a federal judge rejected his motion. While we can all chuckle that the perpetrator should have just returned the darn cows to his neighbor after they wandered onto his property, the real interest, and a precedent has been set, as he is the first American to be sent off to prison thanks to drone assistance.

Forbes points out that it’s disconcerting that drones created to protect American borders are now being used to apprehend American citizens, although a manned helicopter could have done the same thing. The danger, though, is that widespread drone use could be easier to achieve than buying a helicopter for every local precinct in the country.

Records obtained by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a civil liberties group, found that CBP Predator drones flew 700 missions between 2010 and 2012 for other law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and local police departments. CBP Predators were equipped with Vehicle and Dismount Exploitation Radar (VADER), developed by the military to detect insurgents in Afghanistan.

The question of whether aerial surveillance requires a warrant is ambiguous, with some court rulings – including a 1986 Supreme Court decision – allowing warrantless surveillance, while other rulings have found it to be unconstitutional.

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