LI Cops Can Shoot Down Drones, as New High-Tech Command Center is Unveiled

LI Cops Can Shoot Down Drones, as New High-Tech Command Center is Unveiled

 By:  Ilana Siyance

Nassau County would like to take matters into its own hands, giving cops in Long Island the green light to shoot down mysterious drones. As reported by the NY Post, Nassau County officials announced Thursday that they don’t want to wait for something “disastrous” to happen, and want to take a pro-active approach to the drones that have been seen overhead in New Jersey and New York. “We don’t want to wait until we have some kind of disastrous event to then say, ‘Well, we could have done this and we could have done that,’” Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman told reporters.

Nasau County officials unveiled their new state-of-the-art drone command center that can track the mysterious drones from miles away.  While they are still waiting for the federal government’s permission to use their high-tech tools to intercept and take down the drones, local authorities gave their approval.  “The Nassau County Police Department has the authority and certainly has my approval that if there is a mass gathering anywhere and there is a drone that is a threat to the public at large, they have the authority and the jurisdiction and the right to shoot down that drone,” said Blakeman.

The announcement came Thursday, as the Federal Aviation Administration temporarily banned drone operations over parts of New Jersey and decreed that “deadly force” may be used to bring them down.  The FAA said that unmanned aircraft are barred, at least until Jan. 17, from flying within a nautical mile of specified airspace outlined in an FAA Notice to Airmen (NOTAM).

In recent months, local authorities in NJ and NY have been alarmed by the over 1,000 unidentified drones spotted flying overhead and over sensitive military and nuclear power plant areas. The sophisticated aircraft have raised suspicions that another country, possibly Iran, Russia or China, might be behind them.  In recent weeks, reports by the Post have said that there were drone sightings near at least 17 U.S. military bases adjacent to Chinese-owned farmland — near military bases throughout the country including  Hawaii, Utah, California, Maine and Florida.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) said last week that he believes some of the unidentified craft are “spy drones” from China.  “We need to identify who is behind these drones,” he said. “My judgment based on my experience is that those that are over our military sites are adversarial and most likely are coming from the People’s Republic of China.”

Per the Post, Nassau County’s new command center can now keep tabs on any drones nearing their air space.  “I can see a drone coming from 20 miles, but I can’t stop it,” said Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder. “That’s what we’re asking for. The county exec is asking Congress to push that bill forward so we can get our drone mitigation here.” He added, “As far as my snipers go, I have 30 of the best, world-renowned snipers in the country that can hit a quarter a mile away,” said Ryder. “That’s how good they are.” Despite their ability to react, they will still be limited without approval from the federal government.  The White House has continuously downplayed the concerns despite the rush of calls from local officials and residents demanding an answer to the drones’ origin and intent.

“We would like the power to do a few things,” said Blakeman. “Number one, we would like the technology so we don’t have to shoot it down, because that creates a whole ‘nother set of problems with the people who are on the ground.  But the technology is there there to jam it and send it back to its home base.”