Communications between FAA and Brunswick, GA police

To Whom It May Concern:

This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act. I hereby request the following records:

All communications both written and electronic between the FAA's Atlanta office as well as the UAS office and the Brunswick Police Department.

In an email received today, Brunswick police indicated that they received advice on its Parrot AR.Drone: "To answer your specific question, the FAA does not require unmanned vehicles flying up to 500 feet to be approved by them. I confirmed this today with our local FAA Atlanta Office, however they were unable to cite the specific regulation in reference to this. The person who could give me that specific information will not be in the office until tomorrow."

I request expedited processing in light of the potential miscommunication among FAA components on applicable UAS rules and the ensuing confusion that may result if these miscommunications are not rectified, as well as the potential violation of FAA regulation by the Brunswick Police Department, per findings outlined in my article here: http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/the-feds-have-no-idea-whos-flying-drones

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 20 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Shawn Musgrave

Dr. Taylor,

I request that you reconsider both my fee waiver and expedited processing denial.

For both, I ask you to take into consideration that I am a journalist covering domestic UAVs. I wrote a piece examining the Brunswick, GA police purchase and use of a UAV despite their not having a COA: http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/the-feds-have-no-idea-whos-flying-drones

As I noted in the article, the Brunswick police indicate that the FAA's Atlanta office indicated that they did not need a COA. This is of interest not only for this case but in light of allegations that the FAA has given inconsistent advice to government agencies across the country on UAV standards, licensing requirements and the process for obtaining a COA. Given that law enforcement across the country are increasingly interested in unmanned aerial technology and are obviously uninformed about the licensing requirements, I intend to investigate further the role of the FAA in their education. Furthermore, as these alleged communications happened a few years back, I request expedited processing to head off destruction of any communications according to retention schedules in the intervening time when the FAA completes my request, which in my experience can be several months or more.

Thank you,
Shawn

To Whom It May Concern:

I request that you reconsider both my fee waiver and expedited processing denial for request 2014-001394.

For both, I ask you to take into consideration that I am a journalist covering domestic UAVs. I wrote a piece examining the Brunswick, GA police purchase and use of a UAV despite their not having a COA: http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/the-feds-have-no-idea-whos-flying-drones

As I noted in the article, the Brunswick police indicate that the FAA's Atlanta office indicated that they did not need a COA. This is of interest not only for this case but in light of allegations that the FAA has given inconsistent advice to government agencies across the country on UAV standards, licensing requirements and the process for obtaining a COA. Given that law enforcement across the country are increasingly interested in unmanned aerial technology and are obviously uninformed about the licensing requirements, I intend to investigate further the role of the FAA in their education. Furthermore, as these alleged communications happened a few years back, I request expedited processing to head off destruction of any communications according to retention schedules in the intervening time when the FAA completes my request, which in my experience can be several months or more.

Thank you,
Shawn

Hello,

I received no answer to my request for fee waiver reconsideration. Please advise as to the status of this request.

Best,
Shawn

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Nov. 25, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #2014-1394.

Thank you for your help.

Hello,

Apologies -- for some reason the first two messages from Ms. Culley were caught in spam filters.

The Brunswick Police Department indicated that it called an individual from the Atlanta office, but could not indicate which department or individual beyond the fact that it was a female who got in touch. Is there any way to survey FAA Atlanta offices for contact with Brunswick Police Department?

I'm open to suggestions to narrow the FOIA request, by all means.

Best,
Shawn

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Nov. 25, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #2014-1394.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Nov. 25, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #2014-1394.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Nov. 25, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #2014-1394.

Thank you for your help.

Ms. Culley -

Apologies for the delay in response. I agree to close this request in light of the FAA's difficulties accessing emails from this period.

Best,
Shawn