Drones: Can you lawfully shoot down a drone over your private property?
C
all me old school, but it amazes me
that this is a question that I have dealt
with in my practice, and that actually have
state and local laws that address it.
So, either you have watched the
scenario depicted in some type of movie
or television show or you have actually
been pestered by a drone flying over your
property, and very possibly taking unauthor-
ized videos. The private property owner
has no idea who is flying the drone, where
it has come from, and what is its purpose.
They only know that they have not given
permission for this drone to be flying over
their property and filming them. So, the
question arises, can they shoot it out of
the sky? The simple answer is no. Though
there have been a few exceptions, most
reported cases concerning shooting a
drone over private property resulted in the
shooters being charged with, and ultimately
convicted, of criminal mischief and related
misdemeanors.
So why no, when the drone was not
authorized to be flying over your prop-
erty, do you ask? As a starting point, as a
real property owner you are entitled to a
reasonable amount of airspace above your
property necessary to utilize the property.
So, while you cannot complain about an
airplane flying over at 30,000 feet, a drone
flying over at 100 feet is a different story.
Texas also has the “Castle Doctrine” which
allows homeowners to protect themselves,
and their property, with force. Further,
Texas has laws that permit the use of force
when the property owner believes it is
necessary to prevent a trespass on their
land. So, again, with these laws in place,
why would it not be lawful to shoot down a
drone over your private property? Well, it
boils down to a safety issue.
Most cities or towns have ordinances
that prohibit shooting firearms in city limits
for good reason. There is no way to where
the projectile, bullet or pellets, will land.
Therefore, if in a city limits, you would be
violating laws or ordinances in the attempt
to shoot down the drone unless under
specific threat to human life exceptions. I
think we can agree that a drone, generally,
does not threaten human life, so within city
limits, the answer is no.
Well, many of us live outside city
limits in Parker County, so what then?
Well, Parker County has a specific County
Ordinance OR09-08 which prohibits the
discharge of firearms on lots ten acres or
smaller except for the protection of person-
al property, self-defense, livestock, and
varmint extermination.
So, only if you are on private property
in Parker County that is larger than ten
acres would you be exempt from firearm
restrictions in Parker County. But even in
those circumstances you could still face
civil liability from the drone owner unless
you prove the trespassing drone was not
authorized to be in your air space; you
reasonably believed the trespass could only
be prevented by the use of force; and you
requested the trespass cease or reason-
ably believed the request would be useless.
All this to say, it is not a good idea to shoot
the drone out of the sky.
You would be better served to report
the drone use to the local authorities as
there are specific statues in the Texas
Government Code, Chapter 423, which
make it illegal to take, possess and
disclose pictures or images from a drone,
or unmanned aircraft.
There are also civil penalties of $5000
for unauthorized pictures or videos and
$10,000 for disclosure of them, so rather
than being on the wrong end of the law
for shooting down the drone, you can be
on the right end, both criminally and civilly,
by reporting the drone to the authorities.
As a general rule, It is always preferable
to be the one with “clean hands” (i.e., not
accused of something) when in the court-
room asking a judge or jury to rule in your
favor.
-
Tim Mendolia, Partner, M&P Law
Office, 6900 E. Interstate 20, Aledo, Texas
76008, 817.546.4100, a general practice,
including, criminal, family, juvenile, civil, real
estate, business law since 1994, and since 2003
in Parker County, Texas. Tim is a member of
the Texas Bar Foundation and 2017 American
Institute of Criminal Law Attorneys 10 Best
Attorneys.
6900 E. Interstate 20 Frontage Rd. South H Aledo , Texas H 817.546.4100 H 817.546.4104 fax
Zachary Q. Pettigrew, Timothy L. Richardson, Kimberly T. Mendolia, Timothy J. Mendolia
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