On Monday, Earl Jackson, 32, contacted the Waupun Police Department to report he had lost communication with the drone he was flying from the yard of a home on East Jefferson Street.
He told police he was worried it was headed toward Waupun Correctional Institution (WCI), home to about 1,240 male inmates.
“He was right. It did land behind the prison walls,” said Waupun Police Chief Dale Heeringa.
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The drone owner had registered the device with the Federal Aviation Administration. Its rules governing drones state that they must be flown in sight of the pilot/operator and only during daylight hours.
Heeringa said they can’t find any wrongdoing by Jackson, but the incident could result in talking with Waupun’s city attorney and council about creating possible ordinances against flying drones near correctional institutions. If a drone flies into a secure area, it could lead to a referral as a criminal charge to the district attorney’s office, he said.
As the legal issues continue to work themselves out in the courts, this is a good outcome.
“He had a right to shoot at this drone, and I’m gonna dismiss this charge.” With that, Judge Rebecca Ward gaveled the case against William Meredith to a close. Meredith’s the Kentucky man whoshotgunned a drone out of the sky that he suspected was ogling his teenage daughter as she sunned herself. He faced charges of criminal mischief and wanton endangerment. “’The next time something like this happens, they’re gonna refer to it,’ Merideth said about future cases involving drones. ‘Now I don’t encourage people to just go out and start blasting stuff for no reason – but three times in one day, three times over the course of a year, six times total, over one property? That’s not right, that’s harassment.’”
