A drone shooting incident in Hillview, Ky., has caught the attention of the FAA and other governing bodies responsible for setting the rules for the use of drones in relation to trespassing and privacy violations.
William Merideth shot a drone that he claimed flew too near to his home, close enough to have the chance to spy on his teenage daughters that were at the back porch at the time of the incident.
Merideth was charged with firing a gun within city limits, but the case was dismissed by a local judge, acknowledging Merideth's right to use force to protect his property from any threat of intrusion, ABC 36 reports.
However, the owner of the drone, John David Boggs, has filed a lawsuit against Merideth, seeking damage fees for the $1,800 drone, with the argument that every inch of airspace in America is owned by the government, debunking the case of trespassing, USA Today reports.
More than the damage fee, Boggs also wants the government to be clear about how, when and where a drone can be considered trespassing, addressing "boundaries of the airspace surrounding real property, the reasonable expectation of privacy as viewed from the air, and the right to damage or destroy an aircraft in flight," USA Today adds.
While the federal government has been doing what it can to finalize drone regulations, 32 states have enacted their own laws or resolutions, but the specifics vary across the country, and some states left it to local authorities to judge when drones are trespassing on people's property, according to the Washington Post.
