** FILE ** Seattle police Officer Jim Britt demonstrates an unmanned aerial ... more >Seattle’s mayor, reacting to widespread complaints and concerns from residents, has ordered the city’s police department to drop plans to use two drones it purchased via a federal grant.
“Today, I spoke with Seattle Police Chief John Diaz, and we agreed that it was time to end the unmanned aerial vehicle program, so that Seattle Police Department can focus its resources on public safety and the community building work that is the department’s priority,” Mayor Mike McGinn said, according to an Associated Press report.
Officials will be returning the drones to the vendor, the mayor said, according to AP.
Seattle’s move comes as the discussion over drone use in the civilian sector has heated. At least 11 states have considered limits or outright prohibitions on police and government use of the technology, AP reports.
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Cheryl Chumley is a continuous news writer for The Washington Times. Previously, she was part of the start-up team for The Washington Times’ digital aggregation product, Times247. She’s also a 2008-2009 Robert Novak journalism fellow with The Phillips Foundation. She can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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