In a case they said was a first for them, officers with the Hillview Police Department charged Merideth with wanton endangerment and criminal mischief. “I wanted to see if it was going to stay there and it did and I reacted”, Merideth said.
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A man has been arrested in Kentucky after shooting down a camera-equipped drone that was hovering on his property.
“I had my 40 mm [sic] Glock on me and they started toward me and I told them, ‘If you cross my sidewalk, there’s gonna be another shooting, ‘” Mr. Merideth told the station.
Along Earlywood Way in Bullitt County, neighbors couldn’t ignore a certain buzz Sunday evening. Then the drone flew over Merideth’s backyard. Neighbor Cindy Diebold saw the drone. “It’s fine and dandy, and I think it’s cool there’s a camera on it, but just take it to a park or something-he’s not a responsible drone owner”.
“What in the world are they looking for?”, she said.
Merideth says he became concerned when the unmanned aircraft hovered over his fence while his two daughters were outside. A short time later, the police arrived and Merideth was unhappy with the police’s response. The man grabbed his shotgun and waited to see if the drone would fly over his backyard property.
“It’s an invasion of privacy”, Merideth said. “As Americans, we have a right to defend our rights and property”. “‘It was hovering over top of my property, and I shot it out of the sky.'”. The FAA strongly encourages those flying for hobby or recreation to follow certain safety guidelines.
“We live in a society now where we don’t know what these people are doing”, Meredith said. “We don’t know if he was looking at the girls…To me, it was the same as trespassing”.
Merideth stands behind his actions and he’s not alone. He says that he is confidant that the charges will either be reduced or dropped completely.
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Merideth is unapologetic, saying he plans to pursue legal action against the owner of the drone. The owner reportedly told the police the drone was worth over $1800, and was being used to take pictures of a friend’s home.
