Queen Anne's County, MD Sheriff Drone Documents

Drone Watch filed this request with the Queen Anne's County Sheriff of Maryland.
Est. Completion None
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No Responsive Documents
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Communications

From: Drone Watch

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to Maryland's Public Information Act ("PIA"), I herby request the following records:

1. any requests for proposals, proposals submitted by vendors, contracts, budgets or cost allocations for the purchase and/or use of aerial drones, UAs, UAVs, and UASs (hereinafter “drones”);

2. any policies, guidelines, manuals and/or instructions on department use of drones, including on the legal process required (such as a warrant or court order), if any, before operating a drone;

3. any departmental records concerning this department’s use of drones now or plans to use drones in the future including:

a. the types of investigations or instances in which this department is using or plans to use drones, or how it plans to support, manage or oversee the usage of drones by another department or office;

b. policies, guidelines, manuals and/or instructions on storage requirements or procedures for video or static images obtained through use of drones, including retention times;

c. the altitude at which drones can or do fly;

d. drones’ ability to carry weapons.

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as I believe this request is in the public interest. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.

In the event that fees cannot be waived, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 30 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Shawn Musgrave

From: MuckRock.com

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Aug. 16, 2012. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

From: James Williams, Major

Mr. Musgrave:

As per your request for information concerning UAV's (drones), please be advised that the Office of the Sheriff does not have a drone, has never owned or utilize a drone, and has no plans to purchase or utilize a drone at this time. Therefore, we have no documentation on file to share. Several years ago the U.S. Department of Justice did some field testing under the auspices of the FAA and provided training to one of our deputies, but to the best of my knowledge if any documentation exists concerning that event it would be in the hands of the Department of Justice. Should I come into contact with any documentation that we are currently unaware of I'll contact you. Please feel free to call on me at any time for clarification or further information.

Respectfully,

Major James L. Williams, Undersheriff

Office of the Sheriff
Queen Anne's County, Maryland

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