To the Editor,
This is in response to the Michael Wilbekin’s letter to the editor “Why doesn’t the NYPD use drones for the St. Patrick’s Day Parade” in the Bronx Times.
I think Mike’s primary concern with this article is obvious. He is comparing and Irish event with known violent events. Why? He wants to spark the continued race debate. End of story.
Why hasn’t Mike contacted public affairs of the NYPD to get an answer? He does not even know if drones were deployed, or not, during the St.Patricks Day Parade. He states a major question has not been addressed nor answered.
I certainly don’t know and don’t really care. There could be many reasons why the police may have or may have not deployed the use of drones during that event. I sure hope the big Mayor E.A. knew.
Let me tell you, drones are a fantastic resource for police and military. We’ve seen this during Iraqi Freedom and other successful military strikes. The key here is that actual personnel are not in danger when military and police have to deal with large crowds or military strikes. While I was a patrol officer with a local PD, we had a helicopter fly around for this type of information and surveillance.
Drone versus helicopter? In these times of pressing and reduced police budgets, which one makes more financial sense? One $2,500 drone and one man vs $200-300 per hour for at least two men and a multi-million dollar bird.
I think for a parade, a festival, any public outing or event, drones are a perfect choice to enhance the police department’s actual ability to monitor events in real time. These drones have the ability to move in, out, up, down, record, communicate and then zoom off and resume a mile away within seconds! Seconds, I say.
How many people does it take to operate a drone? One, I think. Two or three other folks could be monitoring and survey specific issues which may present itself during such an event.
I have been a chaperone for many Caribbean Festivals in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Here, the drones provide great feedback for crowd sizes, parking arrangements and general safety. And these drones were not operated by police. The organizers have promoted the use of drones. Oh, what did Mike say, participants and spectators are predominately people of color! Yep!
You don’t not like the term surveillance. Any public event, many streets, office/commercial buildings or whatever, you are most likely being surveyed. Get over it!
Why drones may or may not have been used during the St. Patricks Day. It is obvious they were deployed for the West Indian Day Parade and other Caribbean festivities in NYC. The author of the letter does provide some insight: “Supporters say it’s needed. Opponents state it’s racial profiling and a violation of rights.” And then, how does he refer to these types of events? “Participants and spectators are predominately people of color for one, and predominately Caucasian for the other.” Facts are facts, and they are very hard to dispute. He got that one right.
Oh, let me speculate the reason of his concern, why drones are at one event and maybe not at another. 1) Read the photo caption accompanying the letter: “Preparation for the notorious violent J’Ouvert Festival and West Indian Day Parade.” And 2) Read the editor’s note. He is the smart one, I think. “The West Indian Day Parade and J’Ouvert Festival celebration has been marred by acts of gun violence, including the 2015 fatal shooting of Carey Gabay, a lawyer in former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration.”
Bingo! The author knows the answer. He just wants to continue the spark. How can we end racism if we give reporters this little tool to promote it?
If a tool by the NYPD can assist in ensuring a safe event by maximizing manpower, maintaining vigilance and to keep all participants and spectators safe, then what is the beef?
Kevin Nieves
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