If a drone showed up in your back yard with a camera, possibly looking at your teen daughters, what would you do? What would your reaction be? Well a father in Kentucky was faced with this very issue and now he is facing two felony charges after being arrested. He shot down a drone in his back yard. Why? The drone was hovering over his backyard, his 16-year-old daughter and her 12-year-old half-sister in their backyard, in thier swimsuits. Mr. Meredith's daughter came into the house get her parents. They went outside to investigate and when she waved at the drone, it flew away.
When the drone returned, William H. Meredith was prepared, shot gun in hand. He felt that his privacy and more importantly the privacy of his family was being violated. After he fired on the drone, four men showed up just outside his property line asking if he was the person that shot down the drone? In the video below he stated, “They asked me, 'Are you the SOB that shot my drone down?’ And I said, ‘Yes I am.'” The Interviewer asked him what he did, if he had his gun on him. William states that, “Yes sir. I had my 41 millimeter Glock on me, open carry, and I told them if they crossed my property there was going to be another shooting.”
Why was his reaction so extreme? Did the circumstances warrant the action that Mr. Meredith took?William states, “I didn’t shoot across the road. I did not shoot above my neighbor’s fences. I shot directly into the air. And if he’d of just flown by my property, there wouldn’t have been a word said. But, when he hovered above my property for more than a few seconds, I felt like I had the right to defend my property.”
According to the FAA drones are to be launched a “100 yards downwind of spectators,” which somewhat supports Meredith’s gunfire. However the FAA further states that “drones cannot be flown over buildings. And shooting them poses a significant safety hazard.” This may be true, but, Hello??? A virtual ‘Peeping Tom’ is also a safety hazard, for the young women, like William’s daughters. A father will do anything to protect his children.
This incident leaves us asking: should people who have drones have to right to hover over someone's personal property, especially when there are young children present? Where do the rights to ownership and exploration stop and the rights to privacy begin? Only time will tell what society, the courts and the nation thinks of this question. While William is seeking an attorney, he is questioning if the law upholds his decision or negates it. No individual was hurt, just an $1,800 drone. Is the piece of technology or the safety of the young adult more important?
What do you think was the proper action for the Meredith family to take in this instance? Like and SHARE on Facebook to see what your friends think!