The police force in one Indian City are planning to use RC drones armed with pepper spray to disperse large unruly mobs.
According to The Indian Express, the police in the city of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh in India have purchased a set of four drones that can lift up to 4.4lb pounds in weight which will be used to pepper spray rioting crowds, if necessary. The drones will be Lucknow’s “functional eyes in the sky,” also giving the police force a live feed of an area.
These drones are already being used throughout Uttar Pradesh, India for taking aerial photographs, but this will be the first time the technology is used to control crowds.
“We are planning to use these drones to control unruly mobs by showering them with pepper spray. This will be less harsh measure than the lathi-charge and we hope it will be more effective,” said Yashasvi Yadav, senior superintendent of police.
Lucknow police intend to use the four drones on a daily basis to maintain law and order, as well as identify traffic violators.
“Earlier, we used the drone cameras for specific purposes. But, these four drones will help us in daily policing like traffic control and taking the live images of any area. They will fly everyday. We will be able to identify people who violate traffic rules,” Yadav said.
Cross your fingers that these pepper-spraying, always-watching drones don’t make their way to the United States, because the last thing we need is another way to receive a traffic violation ticket.