Was Legally Using A UAV To Photograph A News Event

A photographer who was legally using a UAV to get aerial images of a fire in a mobile home park in Surrey, England has sued the local police after he was arrested for flying the aircraft.

The Press Gazette newspaper reports that Eddie Mitchell was working on a freelance contract for the BBC. He is licensed by the Civil Aviation Authority to fly the hexcopter for commercial purposes, and on December 30th he was photographing the scene of a fatal fire at a mobile home park ... called a caravan site in the U.K. ... when he was arrested while his aircraft was still airborne.

Mitchell said that the police took his controls and place him in handcuffs, then attempted to land the aircraft. The landing damaged the UAV to the point it was unusable.

Mitchell did everything right. He found a safe place from which to operate the UAV, and got permission from the landowner to fly. None of that carried any weight with the police.

Mitchell was held in a cell for about five hours on a "breach of the peace" charge, and was eventually released when BBC lawyers got involved. But by that time, the news value of the photographs was gone. Meanwhile, he did not get his aircraft back until the next day, causing him to lose two days work. When he did get it back, the landing by the police had rendered it inoperable.

Mitchell told the paper he's worked hard to develop a good working relationship with the police, and they normally treat him well when he's working. But because of the lost revenue and damaged aircraft, he's suing the department for £5,000, or about $7,500. He is also asking the Association of Chief Police Officers to issue new guidance on working with legal UAV operators.

(Image from file)

FMI: www.acpo.police.uk