Eric Ramnes, Grand Forks, letter: Ground domestic surveillance UAVs

I expect we will be seeing lots more about this story. Just what have the Customs Predators been upto?

From the Grand Forks Herald

GRAND FORKS — The revelation that the Grand Forks SWAT Team not only used an unmanned aerial vehicle to make recent arrests, but also has used the aircraft in the past to perform similar reconnaissance is appalling (“Border Patrol drone was used to arrest Brossarts,” Page A1, Dec. 11).

First, the drones do not even belong to the Grand Forks County sheriff’s department. They are the property of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency, which did not have jurisdiction in this case.

The decision was made without input from either the public or the state legislative body, meaning no oversight is employed even to determine when the drones are to be used.

Second, there is the issue of privacy.

Full letter, http://www.grandforksherald.com/event/article/id/223985/group/homepage/