The Police Department of San Jose California believes it does not need FAA authorization in order to fly a drone such as the DJI Phantom Aerial UAV Drone Quadcopter for GoPro
The SJPD purchased a Century Neo 660 Hexacopter in early 2014. They also purchased a GoPro camera and video transmitter. They spent close to $7000. San Jose calls itself “capital of Silicon Valley.” It is the tenth largest city in the US.
As we’ve reported previously, the FAA has been challenged by others who believe they cannot prohibit the use of small aircraft.
For more information see
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/08/san-jose-police-say-faa-cant-regulate-its-drone-use-faa-disagrees/
I just watched a similar story situation on TMZ about the press using drones to spy and take photos of celebrities and hover over police stations to get photos of suspects being taken in. The attorney on the show clarified that the FAA only governs “above 400 feet” so anything below 400 is a grey area that really has no laws unless the drone was to crash and cause property damage or personal harm. So technically the police do not need approval if the media does not.