Professor Tom McDonnell on Weaponized Drones

A debate is raging over police departments deploying weaponized drones as a crime-fighting tool.

CBS2’s Lou Young reported that the Connecticut State Legislature is the weighing whether the state should become the first in the country to allow police to use drones outfitted with deadly weapons.

“It’s not necessarily unconstitutional, but as a matter of policy — if this were allowed — one would want, again, very strict regulation,” said Pace University Law School Professor Thomas McDonnell.

Supporters of the idea point to the shooting that killed five police officers Dallas last summer. The gunman was killed by a robot carrying a bomb, and supporters say having the device fly to its target would not have made much of a difference.

But civil libertarians are expressing alarm.

The full state Senate will consider the measure in May.