San Jose police drone inflames surveillance-state rumblings

Source: San Jose Mercury News

San Jose police say what is believed to be the Bay Area's first police drone will only be used for bomb cases. Critics fear it's the first step toward streamlined spying on residents and gathering information without a warrant.

... "Speaking today, our intent is to use it for bomb purposes and bomb purposes only," police spokesman Officer Albert Morales said.

But civil liberties groups are sounding the alarm about the drone. They have long challenged the adoption of drones by law enforcement, citing fears of warrantless intelligence-gathering and surveillance. Prior attempts to get drones by Bay Area police agencies, including San Francisco police and the Alameda County Sheriff's Office, were spurned by political pushback centered on those privacy concerns.

"They may say now it's for bomb detection, but tomorrow they may decide to surveil communities of color or watch over a political protest," said Nicole Ozer, technology and civil liberties policy director for ACLU California. "With the revelations of NSA spying the last couple of years and growing community understanding of how surveillance can be misused, the public is no longer willing to accept the 'Just trust us' approach."

Read more: http://www.mercurynews.com/crime-courts/ci_26253376/san-jose-surveillance-state-rumblings-inflamed-by-sjpd