Yuma-area police cautious, yet hopeful about bill to shoot down cartel drones

SAN LUIS, AZ (AZFamily) — A new bill to stop cartel drones from smuggling drugs across the U.S.-Mexico border is being proposed by Arizona lawmakers.

The legislation would grant policing agencies the authority to shoot and take down illegal drones.

House Bill 2733 gives law enforcement officers immunity and permits them to shoot down or disable drones suspected of carrying drugs within 30 miles of the state’s international border.

Police at the southern border say any legislation that helps combat the flow of drugs is helpful, but taking down a drone is no simple task.

Departments like San Luis said they have protocols in place that would restrict them from shooting down drones.

“I believe this is a good tool but it needs to be done through technology, a different approach, not just by blowing it up,” said San Luis Police Lt. Emmanuel Botello.

The San Luis Police Department is no stranger to drug-smuggling drones. Botello says they’ve encountered nearly every tactic from cartels.

However, given the proximity of the border to residential and commercial areas, there would be safety concerns for taking down a drone.

“I could see this very applicable to the area over in the east side where we have a lot of desert closer to Nogales, Sierra Vista, those areas that have a little more desert and where potentially I can see more if those drones come in loaded with drugs,” he said.

“When we are shooting particularly into the sky, we can’t escape the consequences of where our ammunition is going to end up, where our bullets gonna land,” Botello said.

Federal law prohibits shooting down drones, and Botello says it also goes against the department’s policy.

“We don’t have a policy in place that would simply allow us to shoot a drone. It would have to be worked into our policy,” said Botello.

Although he sees flaws in the bill, he believes the provision allowing officers to disable drones with specialized technology could be beneficial.

“There are counter drone technologies that allow somebody operating a drone to actually immobilize , freeze, or obtain information from the other drone and be able to stop it in a remotely manner,” said Botello.

The bill has bipartisan support. State Attorney General Kris Mayes believes this bill could be crucial in stopping the flow of dangerous drugs, like fentanyl, from crossing into Arizona.

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