Photojournalist plans to lodge police complaint following arrest for using drone

 
Drone: Eddie Mitchell, 49, was arrested after trying to use a drone to gather footage (Picture: File Image/AFP)
Standard Reporter31 December 2014

A photojournalist plans to lodge a complaint about police behaviour following his arrest for trying to gather images using a drone.

Eddie Mitchell, 49, said he was given permission to fly the drone over a mobile home site in Newchapel, Surrey, by the landowner.

He was attempting to gather footage after three people died on the site but he was detained in a field close to Gatwick Airport.

After handcuffing him, he said the three officers tried to land the £1,000 drone themselves as it flew around 150ft above the field.

Mr Mitchell, who works for a range of local and national media organisations including the BBC, was held on suspicion of breach of the peace.

Drone arrest: Eddie Mitchell, 49, was attempting to gather footage of a fire at a mobile home site in Newchapel, Surrey (Picture: Google StreetView)

The experienced photojournalist is a trained and insured drone pilot who is approved by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to commercially operate Small Unmanned Aircraft (SUA).

Mr Mitchell was freed without charge after more than five hours of being held at a police custody suite near Reigate, he said.

The father of two from Worthing, West Sussex, said he did not need to alert air traffic control as he was operating a drone weighing under 7kg.

He now plans to lodge complaints about the police's behaviour with the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) and the CAA.

Mr Mitchell, who has worked as a photojournalist for 15 years, said: "It is polite and good airmanship to let police at the scene know what you plan to do before putting a SUA up.

"I was well over 50 metres from any property. I just took off, it was a safe flight and it was within CAA guidelines."

He told the Guardian: “While I was flying it a sergeant arrived and shouted ‘get the drone down now’. I said that I couldn’t talk as I had it in the air”.

According to Mr Mitchell, the police then took the controller from him and landed the SUA themselves.

He said: "It could have flown off in any direction. They were passing the controller between themselves and eventually got it down with a thud. I still haven't got it back."

The case has emerged amid the growing popularity of drones, which prompted the CAA to recently highlight strict rules recreational users must follow.

Regulations include a ban on flying remote-controlled devices over congested areas or within 50 metres (164ft) of people or buildings without official permission.

Breaches can result in the operator being taken to court and fined up to £5,000, and the CAA prosecuted two cases relating to unmanned aircraft in 2014.

Surrey Police said the arrest was made following complaints from local residents and others in the area where a mother and her two young children had died.

Detective Chief Inspector Antony Archibald said: "A number of uniformed officers and detectives were sent to the scene of this tragic incident to assist Surrey Fire and Rescue Service with their investigation.

"While in attendance, concerns about the behaviour of a man were raised to officers from people who believed he was acting in a disrespectful and intrusive manner.

"At the time of the arrest, the main focus for officers and fire crew at the scene was to conclude the initial forensic investigation and to allow the dignified removal of the bodies of those who had sadly died.

"This was a deeply distressing incident which has devastated the community and the impact will be felt for some time. The thoughts of all at Surrey Police are with those affected by the fire."

A police spokesman said that once the "risk of the breach of the peace" had ended, the man was freed from police custody.

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