back to article Bloke whose drone was blasted out of sky by angry dad loses another court battle for compo

An appeals court has snubbed a drone owner's demand for $1,500 compensation from a furious dad who blew the flying gizmo out of the sky when it hovered over his family. In July 2015, William Merideth, 47, was at home in Hillview, Kentucky, America, when his daughter came in from sunbathing in the garden to say there was a …

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  1. Paul Crawford Silver badge

    Here was I thinking he was a simple knob for buzzing a family with his toy. Now it seems he has gone that extra litigious length to prove he is really a "grand knob of the 1st order".

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Coat

      @Paul Crawford

      Yes, the guy just keeps droning on about his lost property...

      (I'll get my coat. The drone pervs watching outside would probably ogle me otherwise)

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Yes, previous articles pretty well let Mr Crawford establish what a low life piece of crap he is. I don't know why he insists on going back to court - to make sure we never forget, perhaps?

      1. Steve Davies 3 Silver badge

        Dig that hole a bit deeper

        Seems to be his motto these days.

        How far will he take it? China? Oh, the might build those drones there but I expect that Party Officals would take a very dim view to being buzzed by one.

        I think I'd suggest that he STFU from now on.

        1. AMBxx Silver badge

          Re: Dig that hole a bit deeper

          Shame the shooter can't countersue for spying on his daughter.

          1. Stevie

            Re: Dig that hole a bit deeper

            Trudat.

  2. GrapeBunch

    French air space

    Repeat after me, children: "Très bon est le nob qui n'a pas aucunement jamais de drone."

    Apologies in advance to those who control French air space, or who actually speak French.

    1. Bloodbeastterror

      Re: French air space

      Ah, mon dieu, non, non, non... Quelle horreur...

    2. JimC

      Re: French air space

      Dans ce pays-ci il est bon de tuer de temps en temps un drone pour décourager les autres.

    3. barbara.hudson

      Re: French air space

      "Arreter de m'ecourer avec tes maudit drones, je t'en cris un bon en tabarnac et me caliçe des police" works around my part of the woods. Franglais, anyone?

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9U72QVCgh_Q

      1. BebopWeBop

        Re: French air space

        Merde

    4. Bandikoto

      Re: French air space

      Mieux d'être un nob dans le silence, que d'être un nob avec un drone et laisser tout le monde savoir.

    5. GrapeBunch

      Re: French air space

      Five reg-tards helped me with my French, there, for which I thank you. Invisible to you all, El Reg itself has joined in the noble effort by serving me ads in French. So make that six, er, six. And all because I noticed that "nob" is "bon" spelled backwards.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    What a colostomy bag...

    If you come into someone's yard & mount a camera on a pole so you can watch a child sunbathing, do you REALLY think the property owner isn't going to come out with a chainsaw to cut down the pole, a cricket bat to beat the shit out of the camera, & then offer to smash in your skull if you do it again?

    You flew a drone over his house so you could film his underage daughter, the courts aren't going to be sympathetic to your irrational demand to be compensated for the damaged goods.

    If you had tried that shit on the other side of the pond, would they have slapped you with an ASBO by now with cries of "think of the children!"?

    Keep on appealing the case against you, I hope you go bankrupt from the legal fees.

    1. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

      Re: What a colostomy bag...

      "chainsaw to cut down the pole, a cricket bat to beat the shit out of the camera, & then offer to smash in your skull if you do it again?"

      I say, old chap, do the colonials actually have cricket bats to hand?

      1. Mike 16

        Cricket bats

        many do, at least in the SF Bay area, one place cricket is actually played. And then there are all the items that look a lot like bats with Greek letters on them in fraternity houses all over the U.S. (for "ceremonial" purposes)

        1. Charles 9

          Re: Cricket bats

          Not to mention baseball bats (which are nigh-ubiquitous in America) can inflict comparable damage, especially the aluminum ones. Their ubiquity and legality make them a preferred gang weapon when less-lethal force is required.

          1. thegroucho
            Joke

            Re: Cricket bats

            You will find they make them from aluminum in the colonies, not aluminium.

            Trolling of course!

            1. gcla72
              Joke

              Re: Cricket bats

              Mine is transparent aluminum. I put it down somewhere and now I can't find it.

            2. TheVogon

              Re: Cricket bats

              "You will find they make them from aluminum in the colonies, not aluminium."

              Yep, always good for a laugh at colonial ignorance to get them to name some heavy metals, Lithium, Sodium, Potassium, Iridium, etc. and then throw in Aluminium...

              1. Patched Out
                Joke

                Re: Cricket bats

                Those silly Brits. Always adding extra syllables when the minimum will do.

                1. Stevie

                  Re: always adding extra syllables

                  Okay, Patched Out: Crickt Bats.

                  Satsfied?

                  1. Toni the terrible Bronze badge

                    Re: always adding extra syllables

                    Does anyone recall Clickety Ba?

                    1. Glenturret Single Malt

                      Re: always adding extra syllables

                      Clicky Ba, was it not? In the Hotspur or one of its stablemates, Since it was around 60 years ago, I cannot remember the name of the (Oriental?) character who wielded this amazing instrument of war.

                2. Anonymous Coward
                  Anonymous Coward

                  Re: Cricket bats

                  the minimium will do nicely

                  1. Stevie

                    Re: the minimium will do nicely

                    If that were true there would be no scallop-backed cricket bats.

            3. Anonymous Coward
              Anonymous Coward

              Re: Cricket bats

              "You will find they make them from aluminum in the colonies"

              Which 'colonies' are you referring to?

              In New Zealend, any decent cricket bat would be made of proper willow as it should, but other lightweight metal products tend to be made of 'aluminium'. No idea what this 'aluminum' stuff is.

          2. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Cricket bats

            And aluminum supplies a rewarding "clank", a wooden bat on skull just sounds like you're banging cocoanuts.

            1. Captain DaFt

              Re: Cricket bats

              "just sounds like you're banging cocoanuts"

              Aaand that's another addition to my list of fetishes I want no part of! ☺

              1. Andrew Moore

                Re: Cricket bats

                I think Kid Creole already beat you to it...

            2. Charles 9

              Re: Cricket bats

              "And aluminum supplies a rewarding "clank", a wooden bat on skull just sounds like you're banging cocoanuts."

              Depends. Some really prefer the wooden CRACK of the wood bat, and of course the pro leagues insist on wood for difficulty reasons.

              1. jake Silver badge

                Re: Cricket bats

                Alumin(i)um bats don't "clank", they "ping". I totally agree, friends don't let friends use alumin(i)um bats. It's just not done.

          3. dbannon

            Re: Cricket bats

            Gad ! No gentleman would use an aluminium (or aluminum) bat.

            1. tiggity Silver badge

              Re: Cricket bats

              Ah. memories of Dennis Lillee

        2. Number6

          Re: Cricket bats

          many do, at least in the SF Bay area, one place cricket is actually played.

          Yes, I've seen cricket in progress on the local school playing field at weekends. I think most, if not all, of those playing are of Indian (or near neighbour) descent, which might explain it. There are quite a few people from the sub-continent in the Bay Area so they have enough interest to make teams. Probably less so in Kentucky.

      2. Old Used Programmer

        Re: What a colostomy bag...

        Where this took place...no. He'd probably use either a baseball bat or a "clue by 4".

        1. jake Silver badge

          Re: What a colostomy bag...

          I think you'll find it's not baseball bats or clue-by-4s where folks seem to like settling disputes this way ... they actually prefer axe handles. Or pool[0] cues.

          [0] Yes, I play snooker & billiards ... The boneheads who think physical force is the answer to everything have rarely heard of either more enlightened game.

      3. a_yank_lurker

        Re: What a colostomy bag...

        Mostly aluminum baseball bats, they will do wonders on the skull.

      4. Jonah Hirsh
        WTF?

        Re: What a colostomy bag...

        Yes, the colonials DO have access to the Internet, and cricket bats are there for the purchasing if needed.

      5. Stevie

        Re: What a colostomy bag...

        "I say, old chap, do the colonials actually have cricket bats to hand?"

        Amazon makes any piece of sporting equipment, no matter how exotic, just a click away.

      6. Chemical Bob

        Re: What a colostomy bag...

        "I say, old chap, do the colonials actually have cricket bats to hand?"

        We have plenty of ax handles...

    2. kain preacher

      Re: What a colostomy bag...

      I don't know if any one has been charged with this. But in the US there is a vague law that says taking pics of children's crotch for sexual gratification is illegal and puts you on the sex offenders list.

    3. Red Bren
      Childcatcher

      Re: What a colostomy bag...

      AC, could you cite where it says his daughters were under-age? I've re-read this latest article, the original El Reg article, and the WDRB story, and nowhere does it say mention under-age daughters. It's perfectly feasible that his daughters are in their twenties.

      What the drone's owner was doing was out of order. There's no need to invoke "Think of the children".

      1. chivo243 Silver badge
        Headmaster

        Re: What a colostomy bag...

        @Red Bren

        Do you have children? Doesn't matter, this is beside the point, I do believe if our drone mastabator had been looking at the marksmen's wife it would have resulted in the same result.

        Just think about your feelings regarding personal space and privacy...

        1. Mark 85

          @chivo243 --mRe: What a colostomy bag...

          I'm not sure why the downvote but I quire agree with you. Age doesn't matter in reality. A Peeping Tom is a Peeping Tom. Age nor sex matters. If their snooping.. they should get what they deserve.

        2. Red Bren
          Happy

          Re: What a colostomy bag...

          @chivo243

          Speaking as a parent, I have no more authority on this matter than a non-parent. The point I'm making is that the drone pilot was in the wrong, regardless of whether his target was the kids, the wife, the dad or the house. Which I think is the point you're making. So shall we agree to agree?

      2. RJChurchill

        Re: What a colostomy bag...

        It didn't mention the girl was 16 in this article. But for less time to ask the Reg readers about the age you could google the incident and find out for yourself she was 16 and thus was under age.

        http://www.wdrb.com/story/29650818/hillview-man-arrested-for-shooting-down-drone-cites-right-to-privacy

        "VanMeter has a 16-year-old daughter who lays out at their pool. She says a drone hovering with a camera is creepy and weird."

      3. Rob Gr

        Re: What a colostomy bag...

        I love the irony of someone who chooses the child-catcher as his profile image posting this.

    4. TheVogon

      Re: What a colostomy bag...

      "If you come into someone's yard & mount a camera on a pole so you can watch a child sunbathing, do you REALLY think the property owner isn't going to come out with a chainsaw to cut down the pole, a cricket bat to beat the shit out of the camera, & then offer to smash in your skull if you do it again?"

      Sure, but I would also expect them to be arrested for assault and criminal damage and the court to order them to pay to fix said damage. They should have called to police to address the original issue...

      1. VulcanV5

        Call out the cops . . .

        @ TheVogon: You certainly have some odd notions about the role of the police:

        "Sure, but I would also expect them to be arrested for assault and criminal damage and the court to order them to pay to fix said damage. They should have called to police to address the original issue..."

        They should also have been prepared to wait for, let's say, two to six weeks whilst the police were busy dealing with other unambiguous crimes, after which time a nice community relations officer would've dropped by to say that, amazingly enough, we can't find anything in Law which stops you from blasting to smithereens the means whereby a possible paedophile gets off on viewing under-age children to their inevitable distress.

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