Crowd Suppression Drone-Shoots Plastic Bullets - Los Angeles Times
I don’t expect to see this used in Los Angeles anytime soon. Like every law enforcement tool, this will be about how it’s used and when. And by whom.
A South African company has begun selling a new crowd-suppression tool that, according to reports, can spray up to 20 plastic bullets or paintballs per second. From the air. Yes, it’s a drone, and the first customers apparently are South African mine companies, which have been wracked by labor unrest over wages and working conditions.
So the Pinkerton guards of old have become high-tech remote-controlled observation and assault systems.
The manufacturer, Desert Wolf of South Africa, told the BBC that its new Skunk drone (yes, there’s something in a name) could reduce violence by replacing on-the-ground security forces confronting striking workers or other protesters with airborne monitoring and attack drones. The machines carry speakers for addressing crowds and lasers to blind them, video cameras for close observation and recorded surveillance, and the ability to tag individuals in the crowd with color-specific paintballs, i.e., red for someone suspected of vandalizing, blue for someone perceived to be inciting violence, etc.
More: It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a crowd-suppression drone? - Los Angeles Times