BROWN COUNTY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Southern Brown County residents say a drone operator continues to harass them.
They took their claims to the county’s public safety committee Tuesday night.
County officials say they will try to help, but so far believe their hands are tied due to airspace being under federal jurisdiction.
The residents, from the towns of Morrison and Glenmore, have been trying to get the evidence federal authorities say they need to prove their neighbor is harassing them with his drone.
Angie Brandenburg sent 14 cellphone videos to FOX 11, saying the drone has been scaring her children and is constantly flying over her family’s home. In most of the videos, it doesn’t appear the drone is flying below the tree line.
Marv Zeamer and others contend the drone has been much closer to the ground over their properties.
“We looked and there was a drone about 20 feet behind the horses, about 30 feet in the air and one of the horses was so scared it tried jumping over the other one with the saddle on,” recalled Zeamer of an incident in July.
Last month, Mike Evans admitted to FOX 11 he has been operating his drone over his neighbors’ properties.
“I’m not doing anything wrong,” Evans told FOX 11 on September 19th.
Evans says his drone never goes below the tree line, is not invading privacy, and is not breaking any laws.
“I don’t care what any of these people say,” said Evans on September 19th. “I’m going to keep flying there and that is that.”
County officials told the residents at Tuesday’s meeting they haven’t found anything under the law to stop Evans and his drone.
“We have to establish probable cause and that is difficult in light of the way the current laws are written,” said Brown County Sheriff Todd Delain.
Delain says based on his contact with the Federal Aviation Administration, Evans has complied with any of the agencies’ requirements for registration and training.
However, neighbors have forwarded us an email from the FAA, which states resident concerns about use of a drone further than the visual line of sight have been substantiated.
The FAA would not confirm that information to FOX 11 and we have since filed an open records request to see if any action has been taken against Evans.
“You don’t know what’s happening,” said Zeamer. “You don’t know if he’s casing the place. He scared our horses a couple times and I don’t want them to run through the fence and get cut up, but what are we supposed to do?”
The county’s public safety committee passed a motion to have the county’s attorney look into whether an ordinance is possible related to drones invading privacy. The committee also asked for a letter to be sent to state and federal officials to change current laws to give local law enforcement more power.
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