L-Ne · Historical Source Library

News Source Record

# News Source Record

**L-Ne / Open-source news extract** — Original media coverage of unmanned aerial systems.

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Collection date | 30 April 2012 |
| Platform | Quiet Systems |
| Data label | Open-source news record // LRRK collection product |
| Handling | Public-source material. Image rights require separate verification before publication. |
| Scale | National |
| Language | English |
| Terms matched | drone; drones; remotely piloted aircraft; unmanned planes |

## Bibliographic

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Outlet | Los Angeles Times |
| Title | Police departments wait for FAA clearance to fly drones |
| Dateline | WASHINGTON |
| First publisher | yes |
| Original URL | https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2012-apr-29-la-na-drone-faa-20120430-story.html |
| Archive URL | — |
| Dedup key | 2012-04-30|los-angeles-times|police-wait-faa-drone-clearance |
| Source grade | B1 |

## Record

**Verified extract — [Fact — B1]** LAT Washington reported police departments had bought inexpensive small drone aircraft with cameras to track drug dealers, find missing children and locate wandering Alzheimer’s patients, but federal airspace rules kept them grounded. Under the February law signed by President Obama, the FAA must write rules by 14 May on licensing police, fire and other public-safety agencies to fly lightweight drones at low altitude, and develop plans that year to integrate individual or corporate drones by 2015. Next month’s rules would apply only to first-responder drones smaller than 4.4 pounds, flown in daylight below 400 feet, within line of sight. Ben Gielow of AUVSI said there is a public interest in letting police use the aircraft sooner. EFF lawyer Jennifer Lynch called the timeline “very quick.” At least a dozen police departments had asked the FAA for permission. Gadsden, Ala., police used a $150,000 federal grant two years earlier to buy a WASP III for drug investigations but had not yet flown it, Capt. Regina May said.

**Kinematic object.** Police/first-responder drones under 4.4 lb, below 400 ft, daylight, line of sight; Gadsden WASP III still grounded

**Coverage frame.** regulatory

## Source integrity

- Why this is treated as an original
- Wire reprint status: LAT original Washington report with on-record Gadsden and AUVSI/EFF quotes.
- What was excluded

- Local Gadsden fact is on this national page, not a reprint of a Gadsden paper.
- Excluded later LAT chrome.

## LRRK relevance

Control Fabric / Watch. Records the first public-safety UAS licensing deadline and a named grounded municipal WASP III.

*LRRK — security assurance for systems that sense, move, and act.*

L-Ne