Surprise! The Gadsden, Ala. Police Department recently discovered that it has two drones, and no one, including Chief John Crane, knows why.
Looks like a case for… well, probably not this department, where everyone seems to be scratching their heads. Crane, who was named chief in February, didn’t stumble on the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) until about two weeks ago. He doesn’t know where they came from, but they’ve had them since 2010. The duo of UAV Wasps cost $150,000, and they were covered by a federal grant.
Seriously, how do you just have a pair of drones and not know it? And Gadsden even has the official go-ahead to fly them. It was included on a list of organizations with FAA authorization released last week.
https://gizmodo.com/here-are-the-61-organizations-with-permission-to-fly-dr-5904723
Gadsden hasn’t used the drones-which can fly at a maximum altitude of 500 feet-yet, which is probably fine. A town of 37,000 people probably doesn’t have much need for aerial surveillance. [Gadsden Times via AP]
Image credit: Gwoeii/Shutterstock
