New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on Monday reiterated that mysterious drone sightings don’t pose a public menace, after 21 mayors and different elected officers known as for extra motion.
“This is something we’re taking deadly seriously,” he stated at an unrelated bill-signing occasion in Princeton. “I don’t blame people for being frustrated.”
His remark got here after lawmakers and mayors in New Jersey demanded a extra “proactive” response from Murphy and federal officers as drones continued to muddle the Backyard State’s skies.
“Either higher level officials know what’s going on and are not concerned, or they are negligent for not apprehending and identifying one of these drones,” the practically two dozen Morris County mayors advised Murphy in a letter despatched this weekend, obtained by the Bergen Document. “We strongly request a proactive approach be taken on the half of the residents of New Jersey and Morris County. These drones have to land at some point somewhere, and these offices need to follow them and identify where they are going and who owns them and is operating them.”
Republican state Sen. Doug Steinhardt on Friday known as for a bipartisan panel to look into the problem.
“The recurring issue of unidentified drones in areas of critical military and infrastructure security, over private homes, under the cloak of darkness and at all hours of the night have raised concerns among many including residents in the 23rd legislative district,” he stated in an announcement. “The incomplete answers and evasive assurances given by the governor and others in authority positions have raised more questions than they have answered.”
Meeting members John DiMaio and Erik Peterson echoed the feelings in their very own letter to Murphy.
The drones have been first noticed in mid-November hovering over mid- and northern New Jersey, typically in clusters as massive as eight. Most of them are greater than these usually utilized by hobbyists. They’ve been inflicting consternation for his or her proximity to a army base and President-Elect Donald Trump’s Bedminster golf course. They would be the identical drones that blocked a medevac helicopter from rescuing somebody injured in a automotive accident simply earlier than Thanksgiving. The FBI and different companies are investigating.
AP
On this picture taken from video, what seems to be a drone is seen above treetops in Flanders, N.J., Dec. 3, 2024. (AP)
Murphy had stated Friday that his workplace was “actively monitoring the situation” along side federal and regulation enforcement officers, however that didn’t reduce it for creeped-out constituents.
“While the benefits of drone technology are widely recognized when used responsibly and transparently, the lack of information and clarity regarding these operations has caused fear and frustration among our constituents,” the mayors wrote of their letter. “Despite inquiries made to relevant authorities, we have yet to receive satisfactory answers about the purpose, operators, or safety protocols governing these flights.”
