MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WMOT) -- Murfreesboro Police have investigated the city’s first case of criminal trespass involving a camera equipped drone.
The MPD on Friday received a call from a homeowner on Eastview Drive about suspicious activity. The resident told police that a drone had hovered momentarily over the backyard pool where he and his children were playing.
The homeowner told police he felt “his privacy had been invaded.”
Police say they were able to locate the drone’s owner. MPD spokesman Kyle Evans says the man lived a few doors down but never admitted to flying the drone over his neighbor’s house.
Evans says the Tennessee Legislature recently updated Criminal Trespass statutes to include drones.
“We also have an issue where these drones are attached with cameras and in many cases high-definition cameras and it enters into the area of unlawful photography and invasion of privacy.”
Evans says the homeowner hasn’t yet decided whether to press criminal charges. He could also pursue a civil case.
Evans says the department fully expects to see more such drone trespass cases in the future.