NYPD's Miller: Drones Will Become More Popular, Commonplace
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- After a Florida man made headlines for video of a fireworks display in Florida with a drone, the NYPD on Monday addressed worries about whether the same could happen in New York.
As 1010 WINS' Carol D'Auria reported, NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence John Miller said he was not surprised to hear the drone flew through the fireworks in West Palm Beach. He said as drones become cheaper and more widely marketed, more people will buy them.
Miller said the drones that have come to New York City did not have sinister purposes, like the one that flew over what was temporarily renamed Super Bowl Boulevard in Times Square this past winter.
"It was traced to a window that it was returned to, and an individual received a summons there for violation of that airspace regulation," Miller said.
That drone was taking photos for a commercial.
And early on Monday, Miller said, drones flew too close to a police helicopter, and two people were charged.
Police told CBS 2 the helicopter was flying near the George Washington Bridge just after midnight Monday morning when it had to dodge the drones. The crew decided to follow the drones, which police said were being flown by two men nearby.
Those men were arrested and charged with reckless endangerment.
The West Palm Beach fireworks were captured back in May by a drone operated by a man named Joe Stiglingh, according to published reports. The video went viral last week as the Fourth of July came around.
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