Miami Hopes to Patrol Streets With Flying Spy Drones

A flying spy drone may soon join the ranks of Miami's finest, pending FAA approval of the 14-pound bot. "Our intentions are to use it only in tactical situations as an extra set of eyes," says a department spokesman. The US military has been using spy drones for years, reports Reuters, and police departments around the country are interested in pressing them into service.

The US border patrol has also been using drones to patrol the Mexican border since 2006. The FAA has been slow in allowing the drones in settled areas, however. "You don't want one of these coming down on grandma's windshield when she's on her way to the grocery store," says an FAA expert on unmanned aerial systems. (More drones stories.)