Journalist and Police Drones Battle It Out in Court
By MATTHEW WEISSMAN
Journalist Ray Rocha recently filed a federal civil-rights lawsuit concerning Michigan’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems Act. Specifically, Rocha seeks to prevent enforcement of the Act against civilians who use drones to record police activity when they are not obstructing or endangering that activity. Rocha was convicted by a jury under this statute in May 2026 for livestreaming the deployment of a Bay County, Michigan police drone to search for suspects on November 10, 2024. Rocha was prosecuted even though Bay County Deputy Chris Berg confirmed that Rocha’s drone “was not that close to the department drone.”
Michigan law prohibits the operation of drones that intentionally interfere with police and other law enforcement, but Rocha’s lawsuit argues that unclear standards could discourage journalists and citizens from recording police activities. Rocha seeks a declaration that the statute cannot be enforced against his future recording absent his causing an objective, material disruption, obstruction, or delay to policy activity.
Drones have become a valuable tool for both police and for independent journalists. Privacy-related concerns from both government and private drone surveillance have become common, but this case highlights a new issue: weighing the importance of flight-safety requirements and non-interference with law enforcement against the ability of the public to document activity of the government. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, where the matter is pending, will weigh the merits of Rocha’s constitutional claims to determine if the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Act strikes an appropriate balance.
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