NYPD purchases $6.5M in equipment to stamp out suspicious drone activity during FIFA World Cup

• NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch revealed $6.5M in drone tech to combat rogue activity for the FIFA World Cup.
• The new “Safer Skies Act” now lets NYPD take down dangerous drones, a task previously for feds.
• FBI Assistant Director in Charge Jim Barnacle warned flying drones over MetLife Stadium is a federal crime.

The NYPD has purchased $6.5 million in equipment to stamp out rogue drone activity when FIFA World Cup fans descend on the metro area next month, Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Thursday. 

The department now has the authority to take down drones that pose credible safety risks – a task that was previously reserved for the feds – just in time for the global sporting event in June, and the Big Apple’s celebrations of America’s 250th birthday on July 4. 

The “operational breakthrough” was the result of the Safer Skies Act, passed by Congress in December, the top cop said. 

“Over the past several months, we have purchased six and a half million dollars in drone mitigation equipment,” Tisch told reporters. “Our officers have recently completed training with the FBI and now….we are finalizing plans to work with the FBI on drone mitigation operations in New York City during FIFA-related events.”

“For obvious security reasons, we will not discuss when or where those operations will take place,” she said. “We will not compromise the integrity of our security plans, but New Yorkers should know this. We are preparing for this threat with the seriousness that it demands.”

Tisch – who began her NYPD career in 2008 as Intelligence Research Specialist in the department’s Counterterrorism Bureau – said she has never “seen a threat environment quite like this one, where multiple pressures are active at the same time, and where developments abroad can have immediate consequences here at home.” 

Rebecca Weiner, the department’s Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence and Counterterrorism, pointed to “the weaponization of drones all over the world.”

“Ukraine is one area, Hezbollah, Hamas, and Israel is another,” Weiner said. “This technology has progressed at a pace that is proliferating a threat.”

“This is not a hypothetical threat. It is a real threat that’s being borne out elsewhere.” 

The NYPD and other local law enforcement agencies are now required to purchase equipment that’s “commensurate” with federal mitigation capabilities to quell drone threats, Weiner added. 

FBI Assistant Director in Charge Jim Barnacle warned would-be drone-users to think again before flying over World Cup events – held at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium about 10 miles from Midtown.

“The government will establish temporary flight restrictions around special events in sensitive locations to keep the public safe,” Barnacle said. “Flying in these areas isn’t just dangerous, it is a federal crime. Violators can result in criminal fines of up to $100,000 and prison, and the seizure of your drone.”

While the NYPD will be on the “front line” during the World Cup matches and other summer celebrations, Jay Clayton, US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said his office will provide “extra on-call 24/7 support.”

“We will immediately investigate any potential instances of terrorism, sex trafficking, and other federal crimes,” he said. “Let me reiterate our message: Criminals, stay away from New York this summer, stay away from New York forever.”