NYPD Wants Authority to Disable Drones Deemed a Threat

The New York Police Department wants the authority to disable a drone deemed to be a potential threat to public safety, a capability it presently doesn't possess under current law.

According to the Wall Street Journal , police are concerned that propaganda abroad showing weaponized drones can inspire terrorists to use drones for lone-wolf attacks in the United States.

In 2018, Congress passed a law allowing federal law enforcement agencies to disable a drone—including shooting it down—but it would take additional federal legislation to give local law-enforcement agencies like the NYPD the same right.

Several drone events have occurred overseas, including the incursion of a suspected drone into airspace either within or immediately beside Gatwick Airport in England which led to a prolonged shutdown of flights into and out of that busy airport.