Had Been Flying A 3-Inch Micro Quadcopter Over Volcano

A man on a family vacation in Hawaii was pursued and tased by a park ranger at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on Saturday after flying a 3-inch micro quadcopter over the rising lava lake at Halema'uma'u Crater to capture some images.

Hawaii News Now reports that while most witnesses to the incident say the ranger used excessive force, park officials contend that Travis Sanders was jeopardizing public safety by taking pictures of the lava lake with his tiny aircraft, and the action was justified by his behavior.

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park spokesperson Jessica Ferracane said that it is illegal to fly an unmanned aircraft in all 407 national park units across the United States. "That national policy was enacted in August of last year and the reason is for visitor and resource protection and visitor enjoyment," she said.

Sanders, 35, said he didn't think it would be a big deal to launch the tiny quad over the scene, but he was approached in the dark by "a guy" who told him to land the aircraft. Sanders said he did not know it was a ranger, and said he "sounded angry and confrontational ... like he wanted to fight."

Sanders said he told the ranger he didn't have ID and "I'm leaving."

But Ferracane says Sanders "refused to identify himself" and "fled", so the ranger used his taser, which he is authorized to carry, to stop Sanders from getting away.  "The ranger deployed his taser to stop the fleeing suspect and then arrested the suspect for failure to comply with a lawful order and interfering with agency functions," she said.

Nearly 100 people, including Sanders' family witnessed the incident. Sanders said his daughter was crying, and "going after" the ranger. Others backed Sanders, saying they were video recording the incident on their phones and "he's not going to do anything else to you."

Sanders said he told the ranger that he was not resisting, but Ferracane says otherwise. "Apparently the suspect was very unpredictable and very unruly and the national park service ranger was really unclear what his next actions would be and needed to stop this individual."

FMI: www.nps.gov/fire/aviation/safety/unmanned-aerial-systems.cfm, www.nps.gov/havo