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Seattle Mayor Ends Police Drone Efforts - ABC NewsQuote:
Seattle's mayor on Thursday ordered the police department to abandon its plan to use drones after residents and privacy advocates protested.Mayor Mike McGinn said the department will not use two small drones it obtained through a federal grant. The unmanned aerial vehicles will be returned to the vendor, he said.
Mayor McGinn is about as dumb as they come, but drones for a City police agency was an incredibly stupid and expensive idea.
In particular when they could use that money to hire more officers.
The major cities and State Police in my area have helicopters and fixed wing aircraft, along with specialists to pilot them. If they could replace a chopper with a drone I'd guess they could have all the benefits and still save enough to hire more officers. Especially if the drone is purchased on a DHS equipment grant.