U.S. Customs & Border Protection

Predator Drone Was Used in Brossart Arrests, WDAZ Television, Dec. 12, 2011

“Armed with a search warrant, Nelson County Sheriff Kelly Janke went looking for six missing cows on the Brossart family farm…

“…Fearful of an armed standoff, he called in reinforcements from the state Highway Patrol, a regional SWAT team, a bomb squad, ambulances and deputy sheriffs from three other counties.

“He also called in a Predator B drone.

“…Local police say they have used two unarmed Predators based at Grand Forks Air Force Base to fly at least two dozen surveillance flights since June…

“…The drones belong to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which operates eight Predators on the country’s northern and southwestern borders to search for illegal immigrants and smugglers. The previously unreported use of its drones to assist local, state and federal law enforcement has occurred without any public acknowledgment or debate…“

First Man Arrested With Drone Evidence Vows to Fight Case, Jason Koebler, U.S. News & World Report, Apr. 9, 2012

“…Currently, about 300 law enforcement agencies and research institutions—including the Grand Forks SWAT team—have “temporary licenses” from the FAA to use drones. Currently, drones are most commonly used by Homeland Security along America’s borders.

“We’ve had a relationship with Predator operations for three years, we’ve provided training for them and received training on the basic capabilities of the predator,” he [Bill Macki, head of the Grand Forks SWAT team] says. “We’ve established a relationship with [Homeland Security]. Through that relationship, we’ve learned drones’ capabilities and when we can or cannot use a drone.”

The Coming Drone Revolution: What You Should Know, Jason Koebler, U.S. News & World Reports, Apr. 5, 2012

“…Experts predict as many as 30,000 unmanned aerial vehicles in a couple years—they’ll be owned by journalists, police departments, disaster rescue teams, scientists, real estate agents, and private citizens.

“…The UAVs can stay aloft for long periods of time, and unlike helicopters, they can’t be easily detected. “People behave differently when they know they’re under surveillance,” says Catherine Crump, of the American Civil Liberties Union. “We are not opposed to the domestic use of drones, but we’re concerned that they could become tools of general or pervasive surveillance.”

Death from the Skies: An Overview of the CIA’s Drone Campaign in Pakistan – Part One, Brian Glyn Williams, Global Terrorism Analysis, Sept. 2009

“…more than six hundred people have died in these unpredictable aerial strikes that have killed both high value terrorist targets and innocent civilians. ..

“…On January 13, 2006 several drones firing up to ten missiles destroyed three homes thought to be housing Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri (al-Qaeda’s number two) in the village of Damadola in the tribal agency of Bajaur. Eighteen people, including numerous women and children, were killed in the strike, but al-Zawahari was not there. This bungled attack caused thousands to protest across Pakistan and led to official condemnation of the attack by furious Pakistani officials.

“…success has come at a high political price in the form of hundreds of civilian bystanders who have been killed in the strikes. The strikes may have turned many Pakistanis into enemies and might thus represent a strategic defeat in the greatest battle in this front-line country, the battle for the hearts and minds of the Pakistani people.”