June 2019 AST Magazine June 2019 AST Magazine | Page 58

www.AmericanSecurityToday.com
June 2019 - Edition 34
(A Sacramento County man is facing federal charges for allegedly flying a drone and dropping
leaflets over fans at 49ers and Raiders games in 2017.)
drone confiscated, and he was charged Police agencies, NFL officials, MLB
with a gross misdemeanor.
teams, Homeland Security officials,
and a whole lot of others are asking:
Perry Tarrant, retired Assistant
Chief of the Seattle Police Depart- • What if… an unauthorized drone crash-
es and injures someone?
ment, where he commanded the
Special Operations Bureau, and now • What if people in a stadium or other
advises on the beneficial uses of crowded venue see a drone, panic, and
drones for policing—as well as on start a stampede?
countering the threats from mali- • What if a drone is carrying toxic weap-
ciously used drones—looks at such ons or explosives instead of pam-
phlets?
events and says: “What if . . .”
The Fear: What If
Tarrant isn’t alone in his fears.
The FAA closes airspace over stadi-
ums, race tracks, and a range of other
venues for major events.
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