According to a post in the Caldwell Guardian, the Caldwell police department recently spent a big pile of money on an unmanned aerial system (equipment, training, etc.). The photo (shown left) is not necessarily the unit purchased.
It is no surprise that civilian law enforcement would be encouraged by unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) manufacturers to buy UAVs for police surveillance and operations. The US military and intelligence community has paid millions if not billions of dollars for their development. As first generation UAVs evolve to second generation and then third generation and so on, the manufacturers will be trying to get rid of technological inventory at bargain basement prices.
But should US civilian law enforcement be using UAVs? What are the constitutional issues? Should US civilian law enforcement be able to deploy weaponized UAVs? Under what circumstances?
The issue has become large enough for Congress to begin looking at it. To help the hired help in Fantasyland-on-the-Potomac get somewhat up to speed, the Congressional Research Service has published Drones in Domestic Surveillance Operations: Fourth Amendment Implications and Legislative Responses . It was released September 6, 2012.