Michigan Bill Seeks to Expand Police Authority Over Rogue Drones

Bills would give state, local police power to bring down drones

By DRONELIFE Features Editor Jim Magill

A bill being considered by the Michigan state legislature would give non-federal law enforcement officers in the state the authority to disable or destroy an unmanned aircraft flying in a manner that poses a risk to public safety or that is flying in violation of Federal law or FAA guidelines. Under current federal law, only certain federal law enforcement agencies are designated with the legal authority to bring down drones.

The proposed legislation is just one part of a package of UAS-related bills, being brought forward by State Representative Bill Bruck.

Other bills in the package would: prohibit state agencies from purchasing drones or related equipment from companies named on the U.S. department of Defense list of companies with significant connections to the Chinese military; require public agencies in the state to submit a list of countries they will not buy drones from; and would prohibit the operation of a drone over a law enforcement facility, a correctional facility, or any other site designated as critical infrastructure.

In an interview, Bruck acknowledged that some state measures to give non-federal law enforcement agencies the authority to conduct counter-UAS measures that result in a drone being taken out of the sky could be pre-empted by federal law. A draft of his bill to amend the state’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems Act states that the portion of the bill authorizing such actions would not apply “unless federal law is amended to allow a police officer to intercept, disable or destroy an unmanned aircraft.”

He noted that there are several bills pending before Congress that would give non-federal law enforcement agencies greater authority to conduct counter-UAS operations, including the use of kinetic and non-kinetic measures to bring down drones. But he said the potential threat to life and property from errant drones requires state such as Michigan to take bold action immediately, rather than waiting for the federal law to catch up.

“We are pushing the envelope,” he said. “We, as a state — I should say, every state — needs to have some ability in order to counteract drone activity. To put it simply, we are waiting for the next disaster when it comes to drones.”

Bruck said that under his proposed legislation local police forces, as well as trained private security forces certified by the state, would be able to utilize counter-UAS capabilities at critical infrastructure locations in the state, such as prisons and law enforcement facilities.

The legislation does contain some safeguards to guarantee the rights of legitimate drone operators whose aircraft are damaged or destroyed by such police actions, he said.

“They’re not exempted from any liabilities, if they inappropriately took down a drone and caused damage,” Bruck said. “However, if a drone was within the arena of critical infrastructure, that would be prohibited through another bill that’s in the package, that they (law enforcement) would have the power to counter that unmanned aerial system.”

Michigan is just the latest state to consider granting greater authority to state and local law enforcement officials to bring down what are considered to be threatening drones. In June, Louisiana became the first state to challenge the federal government’s primacy in regard to counter-UAS operations, when Governor Jeff Landry signed into law a bill “that authorizes state and local law enforcement to actively intercept and disable drones that pose credible threats to public safety.”

Expanding the list of covered critical sites

Robert Blackshaw, executive director of the Michigan State Capitol Commission, cheered the proposed legislation and said he wanted to ensure that the State Capitol be included on the list of critical sites to be protected by counter-UAS measures.  In an interview, Blackshaw, whose agency oversees the conduct of guided tours, restoration and security at the State Capitol building, said the need to protect the historic building from the potential drone attacks “is becoming an overwhelming issue.”

Blackshaw said the increased prevalence of drones operating within that state’s airspace calls for some form of counter-UAS response by law enforcement on a state or local level.

“We all know that within a year or two, Amazon’s going to be flying drones. We know the police are going to use drones for accident reviews and people use drones for other things,” he said. “We do know the FAA and the FBI; they’re going to be overwhelmed. The policy needs to be put in place so they can push this down to more local enforcement officials to help mitigate this issue that is growing on a daily basis.”

Also included in Bruck’s package of UAS-related legislation are several related measures that target the use of Chinese-made drones by any entity that’s part of, or that receives financial support from the state.

“A state agency, unit of local government, university, community college or entity that receives money from a state agency or local unit of government is subject to the same restrictions and prohibitions that apply to the purchase or acquisition of drones that apply to the federal government,” reads a bill to amend the state’s Management and Budget act.

Read more:

• New State Drone Laws Set Strict Operational Boundaries
• Texas considers ban on Chinese drones for state agencies
• Michigan Supreme Court Allows Drone Surveillance Evidence in Civil Case

Jim Magill is a Houston-based writer with almost a quarter-century of experience covering technical and economic developments in the oil and gas industry. After retiring in December 2019 as a senior editor with S&P Global Platts, Jim began writing about emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, robots and drones, and the ways in which they’re contributing to our society. In addition to DroneLife, Jim is a contributor to Forbes.com and his work has appeared in the Houston Chronicle, U.S. News & World Report, and Unmanned Systems, a publication of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International.