Florida law prohibits police departments from using drones to surveil citizens. So Miami Beach cops instead got a small blimp.
On December 28, MBPD flew a tiny, helium-filled dirigible, or “tethered aerostat,” over an Orange Bowl-related party called the Capital One Beach Bash. A camera attached to the balloon monitored the moves of 15,000 patrons, according to a letter City Manager Jimmy Morales sent to the city’s commission on January 3. Continue reading “Miami Beach Police Using Surveillance Blimp in Possible Violation of Florida’s Police-Drone Ban”

