Had Captured The Images During A Burglary Investigation In His Neighborhood

A man in Orlando, FL says the Orange County Sheriff's Department violated his civil rights when they forced him to delete video he captured using a UAV.

Aaron Bitler, who says he flies his aircraft "every day", sent it skyward when he noticed several deputies in his neighborhood. He told Orlando Brighthouse Cable Channel 13 that he wanted to be sure that there was no one trespassing on his property. A few minutes after he launched his UAV, he said there was a spotlight shining on him from a Sheriff's department helicopter, and he was then confronted by several deputies. "They hassle me, tell me I'm hindering an investigation (and) then they make me take my drone inside. Then two officers came inside and made me delete my video," he said.

Bitler said he complied to avoid being arrested.

Sheriff's office spokeswoman Jane Watrel said the deputies were within their rights to talk to Bitler about his aircraft if they felt he was impeding an investigation. In a later statement, Watrel said "We are still trying to determine what happened when the patrol deputy made contact with the drone operator.

"However, there is deep concern over this incident because the drone owner is in clear violation of FAA rules concerning flying drones near airports."

A legal analyst for the station said Bitler's use of the UAV to take video of the situation was no different than someone using a cell phone to do so. Meanwhile, there is legislation that has been introduced in the Florida Legislature that would make the capture of such images illegal in many cases.

(Image from file. Not incident UAV)

FMI: https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2015/0766/BillText/Filed/PDF