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LAPD Is Adding Drones To Their Arsenal

Sara Newman |
May 31, 2014 | 9:10 a.m. PDT

Deputy Editor

LAPD now owns two Draganflyer X6 aircrafts (Twitter.com/Personal_Drones)
LAPD now owns two Draganflyer X6 aircrafts (Twitter.com/Personal_Drones)
On Friday LAPD announced that the Seattle Police Department gave them an unusual gift: two  "unmanned aerial vehicles," a.k.a. drones. 

The 3-foot-wide Draganflyer X6 aircrafts each have a camera, video camera and infrared night-vision capabilities. 

“No decision has been made whether or not these vehicles will be used,” said LAPD in a statement. “They are currently in the custody of a federal law enforcement agency pending review by the LAPD and the Board of Police Commissioners, as well as the public.  

Only after approval from the Police Commission, will LAPD have access to the drones, L.A. Police Commission President Steve Soboroff explained in a tweet

“We saw this as an opportunity to possibly incorporate them in very narrow, high-risk kinds of things our SWAT guys do from time to time,”said LAPD Cmdr. Andrew Smith  Smith in response to civilian concerns about the potential for people's violating privacy and civil rights. 

Read the full story here

Contact Deputy Editor Sara Newman here. Follow her on Twitter here. 



 

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