See my<a href="http://ucimc.org/content/why-does-sheriff-small-midwestern-college-town-need-drone"> latest article</a> about the sheriff's purchase of a drone. BD<br><br clear="all"><br>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Why Does Sheriff of Small Midwestern
College Town Need a Drone?</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">By Brian Dolinar </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Most have heard about the unmanned
aerial vehicles, or “drones,” that the U.S. government has been flying over
Pakistan and Afghanistan dropping bombs aimed at suspected militants and all
too often killing innocent civilians. Increasingly, smaller versions of these
planes are being purchased by police agencies, border control, and homeland
security to use domestically. Rather than carrying weapons, they are outfitted
with cameras allowing them to become an all-seeing eye in the sky. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In April 2012, the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) released a <a href="http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2012/04/24/faa-releases-list-of-registered-domestic-drone-operators">list
of 63</a> launch sites approved to fly drones over U.S. airspace, although
since 2006 they have issued between 700-750 operating licenses. Not included on
the list was Champaign County, home to the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign, where the Sheriff has owned a drone since 2008. A Freedom of
Information Act request turned up dozens of documents detailing why the Sheriff
of a small Midwestern college town would want one of these mini-drones. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Lately, Champaign County Sheriff Dan
Walsh has frequently been in the news. In 2011, it was discovered that Walsh
was participating in <a href="http://www.ucimc.org/content/%E2%80%9Csecure-communities%E2%80%9D-program-adopted-sheriff-terrorizing-local-immigrant-community">“Secure
Communities,”</a> a controversial program to detain undocumented residents for
48 hours while a background check was performed by Homeland Security. The
majority of those caught in this dragnet were found to be held for low-level
offenses, not the hardened criminals said to be the focus of the program. (In
March 2012, due to public pressure, the <a href="http://www.cu-citizenaccess.org/content/champaign-county-detaches-immigration-enforcement-activity">Sheriff
ended</a> his participation in Secure Communities). The Sheriff has also been
stumping for the construction of an expanded jail expected to cost taxpayers
upwards of $20 million. The discovery of his purchase of a drone, without
approval of the Champaign County Board, is further evidence of his aggressive
policing. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><b style><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Good
Men Doing Something </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Sheriff’s initial interest in a
drone came from a search-and-rescue mission in 2007 to locate Naomi Arnette, a
woman whose remains were discovered in a small town outside of Champaign. Gene
Robinson, of the Texas-based <a href="http://www.rpflightsystems.com/MainPage.html">RP Flight Systems</a>
(later renamed <a href="http://rpsearchservices.org/">RP Search Services</a>), was
called in to fly his drone as part of a search team. Impressed by the high-tech
gadget, the Sheriff wanted one of his own. It was the end of the fiscal year
and there was about $3,000 in drug forfeiture money that had to be spent. Lieut.
Shane Cook contacted Robinson, who also sold his manufactured drones. Robinson
replied promptly with a quote and some promotional material. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Before buying the drone, Sheriff Walsh
made sure he would not have to clear it with the Champaign County Board. He
first ran the idea by county attorney Susan McGrath. McGrath said that the
previous month an amendment was added to the purchasing policy stating that if
an item cost $5,000-$20,000 and the company had offered the same contract to
another unit of government, it did not require approval from the board. In an email
dated March 11, 2008, Walsh said, “The price is a little under $10,000. I do
not know about any other contracts. I’ll try to find out.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The Sheriff asked Lieut. Cook to see
if bids for the drone had gone out to other government agencies. Gene Robinson said
that he was “making some inroads” with Border Patrol and the FBI’s Joint
Terrorism Task Force. There had also been interest on the West Coast for fire
support, and from the Department of Homeland Security. According to Robinson,
they had given several demonstrations and met with “more agencies out there
than I can remember.” Cook followed up to ask if they had sold a drone to
anyone. If so, their attorney had advised that they could “pony” on the
contract “and not have [a] bid from other companies.” Robinson said he had sold
two drones to emergency teams in his area of central Texas. After finding out
that no other company sold a comparable “tactical” drone, the Sheriff was able
to offer Robinson a no-bid contract. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">According to a purchase order, on
March 19, 2008, Walsh bought a <a href="http://www.rpflightsystems.com/SpectraAP.html">“Spectra”</a> drone. The
plane has a wing span of 48 inches and weighs up to six pounds with equipment.
On the belly of the plane is a camera system capable of providing
three-dimensional live video streaming. [See <a href="http://texasequusearch.org/2011/06/video-cnns-mike-brooks-interview-of-gene-robinson-of-rp-flight-systems-drone-demonstration/">video</a>
of Gene Robinson flying drone.]</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><b style><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In an email dated May 19, 2008,
Lieutenant Ed Ogle asked Robinson for guidelines to operating the plane.
Interestingly, the quote at the bottom of Ogle’s email reads, “All that is
necessary for the forces of evil to win in this world, are for enough good
people to do nothing.” Apparently, the Sheriff and his men are doing<i style> something</i> with this drone to stomp out
evil. At this time, the use of drones domestically was still new and relatively
unregulated. Robinson replied to Ogle, “Since we are pretty much on the leading
edge, we have some latitude in specific departmental procedures, but for the
most part, everyone has accepted our guidelines and flight procedures.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">In September 2008, the drone was
finally shipped to Illinois, but there was a question of whether it could be
insured. As the Sheriff’s insurance agent said, “this is a first that we see
this type of surveillance technology used by a county.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><b style><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">First
Voyage</span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The drone’s “first voyage” was
scheduled for January 22, 2009. Where or when it was flown is unknown. Lieut. Cook
was trying to gain permission from the ROTC to fly it in their armory. In the
meantime, he was flying it on his parents’ property.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The first to learn how to operate
the plane, which required many hours of training, was Lucas Munds, of the
Sheriff’s “Street Crimes Unit” (SCU), a drug unit. The drone was primarily to
be used by the SCU and investigations. Travis Burr, from investigations, was
initially assigned to the team of pilots, but in 2010 <a href="http://www.ucimc.org/content/sheriff%E2%80%99s-deputy-fired-dui">he was
dismissed</a> after being charged with a DUI.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">The drone was only flown for a few
months before, in May 2009, it crashed and received water damage. It was sent to
Texas for repair and returned in October. In September 2010, it was broken
again and returned to the manufacturer. Shortly after, Lucas Munds resigned
from the Sheriff’s department and they had to start from scratch. In the Spring
of 2011, the plane was once again sent back to Texas after failing to work. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">By 2011, the Sheriff was preparing
to apply for a Certificate of Authority (COA) with the FAA. There were
requirements that the drone not be flown within five miles of any airport and be
clear of and Military Operations Areas. In May 2011, Gene Robinson said that
Mesa County, Colorado, got permission to fly a drone in their “ENTIRE” county
and recommended that Walsh “go for the same.” Walsh replied, “Be nice if [the
drone] worked at all! Whole county―wow.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">I filed a FOIA for a copy of the
COA, but received a letter on Oct. 11 that said the record did not exist, but
added, “It is to be understood that this does not mean that the records do not
exist under another spelling, another name, or under another classification.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><b style><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Getting
in the Drone Game </span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Correspondence further indicates
that the Sheriff was on the cutting edge of this new trend. In an email dated
May 22, 2011, Robinson wrote to Lieut. Ogle, “Don’t know if you’ve noticed, but
you guys were WAAAaaay ahead of the pack in getting your UA [Unmanned Aerial].
Seems like more and more PD’s and SO’s are getting in the drone game.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">I spoke to Robinson on the phone on
October 23, 2012 and he told me that he is getting is getting interest from the
Army Corps of Engineers, research agencies, in addition to other law
enforcement agencies. When asked how many drones he had sold, he said, “about a
dozen.” </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Indeed, Sheriff Walsh may be looking
for a second drone. In February 2012, Lieut. Cook sent the Sheriff a link to a
website for a drone called the “Nighthawk,” costing $30-40,000. The link was provided
by John Dwyer, of the Champaign County Emergency Management Agency, whose wife’s
company makes the drone. </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">There is also evidence that the
Sheriff has been monitoring the increased use of drones across the country. In
April 2012, his new pilot, investigator Andrew Good, sent a <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2012/04/01/drones-gain-popularity-among-us-hobbyists-government-agencies/">story</a>
from Fox News about the growing popularity of drones. Later that month, Jail
Superintendent Allen Jones sent the Sheriff a <a href="http://www.policeone.com/police-products/radios/surveillance/articles/5482885-Ala-police-chiev-discovers-department-owns-drones">news
story</a> about a police chief in Alabama who was surprised learn that his
officers had purchased a $150,000 drone, after the FAA released its list of 63 agencies
certified to fly drones. In the subject of the email, Jones had written, “We
are not on the list….” Apparently, the Sheriff and his men are also concerned with
keeping their names out of the press. <span style> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">From the documents provided, it
looks as if the Sheriff’s drone has been downed by mechanical failures as much
as it has been in the air. According to a flight log obtained, the Sheriff’s
drone was flown four times between November 2011 and May 2012, all for training
purposes only. Two of the flights were “Non-Successful,” with the most recent
one ending in a crash. They were flown in the park outside the Brookens County
Administrative building and at a park in the nearby city of St. Joseph.<span style> </span></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">While there may be beneficial uses
of a drone, there is good reason to believe the Sheriff will mostly be using
the drone to track down suspected drug dealers. Given other <a href="http://www.cu-citizenaccess.org/content/police-move-improve-relations-black-communities-champaign-urbana">racial
disparities</a> in the local criminal justice system, it is likely that African
Americans and Latinos will be the ones being watched. But even Sheriff Walsh’s
own conservative friends should be worried about this kind of Big Brother surveillance. <br></span></p>
<br>-- <br>Brian Dolinar, Ph.D.<br>303 W. Locust St.<br>Urbana, IL 61801<br><a href="mailto:briandolinar@gmail.com">briandolinar@gmail.com</a><br>