Professor Joh Comments for Wall Street Journal on Police Use of Weaponized Drones

Professor Elizabeth Joh commented for the Wall Street Journal on a new technology that would enable police to deploy drones equipped with stun guns.  Taser International, which makes stun guns and body cameras used by many police departments, is discussing the technology with law enforcement officials, but Professor Joh said weaponized drones would raise fundamental questions about police use of force.

Usually when police use force, “the premise is there is an imminent danger to the police officer or to the public, but when you create a distance between the officer and the use of force that raises different questions,” said Joh.

One important question would be whether this technology would increase the use of force by officers, she said.

Professor Joh's scholarship focuses on criminal procedure and policing, with a special emphasis on DNA evidence, undercover policing, and new surveillance technologies.

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