Cops In Iceland Regularly Called To Deal With Spying Drones

A man swatted and destroyed a drone he discovered hovering just outside his living room window last night, and police say they are frequently called to deal with drones.

Samúel Þórir Drengsson, who lives in a fourth floor apartment in East Reykjavík, told RÚV he was relaxing at home yesterday evening when his daughter told him a drone was just outside their living room window. He went to check and saw the drone, only about 10cm from their window, hovering there with the recording light on its camera.

“My daughter was shaken and I found it quite strange,” he told reporters. “I went out on the balcony and started throwing snow at the drone. I grabbed some cardboard that was there and managed to strike it.”

Samúel hit the drone hard enough that it lost control and plummeted to the parking lot below, prompting the owner to come running to rescue it. Samúel met the owner in the parking lot, and called the police. While the owner was reluctant to say what precisely he was doing, he said he had just bought the drone and was testing it out.

Police officer Birgir Örn Guðjónsson told reporters that police are regularly called to deal with unwelcome drones. He advises that drone owners respect the privacy and personal safety of others when engaging in their hobby.