New TN law allows law enforcement to continue to use drones without a warrant

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Tennessee law enforcement agencies will continue to be able to use drones without a search warrant in various investigations following the approval of a bill earlier this year.

In 2021, the Tennessee General Assembly approved a new set of laws regarding law enforcement use of drones. The provisions would have ended on July 1, 2024. However, during the latest legislative session, lawmakers voted to extend them.

The bill extending the provisions was sponsored by Sen. Becky Duncan Massey (R-Knoxville), who told News 2’s sister station WATE, “It really is a very useful tool in public safety, and I think the more tools we can give law enforcement to help keep us safe, the better.”

Prior to 2021, law enforcement agencies were allowed to use drones, but it required a search warrant signed by a judge. Under the current law, there are a few different scenarios where agencies can use drones without a warrant, as long as they stay in compliance with federal aviation administration rules.

Authorities don’t need a warrant when using drones to investigate a crime scene, provide aerial coverage of natural disasters during a state of emergency, or to enhance security on private property with the owner’s consent.

Several law enforcement agencies across Middle Tennessee have employed drones in various capacities over the past few years. In July 2023, the Sumner County Sheriff’s Office said a drone helped deputies save a man’s life during a tense welfare check.

While responding to the call, authorities said they spotted a razor blade and a blood trail leading into a 50-acre cornfield. The 5-foot-tall crops were so dense that deputies could not see the man. Minutes after launching a drone, they found him in the middle of the field.

Officials said deputies were able to provide life-saving care and the man ultimately survived the ordeal. According to the sheriff’s office, drones are also used to search for missing children, runaways, Silver Alerts, and individuals inflicting harm.

Drones were deployed to help search for 22-year-old Riley Strain after he went missing in Nashville during a fraternity trip in March.

In Putnam County, the devices have been useful in helping deputies track suspects and during drug investigations. When a man crashed his car and ran into the woods in February, deputies launched one of their tracking drones to quickly take the man into custody.

“Drones, as well as our K-9 [team], you put both of those together in an area where we can use both of those — especially this time of year with no foliage — it’s very difficult to elude law enforcement,” Putnam County Sheriff Eddie Farris told News 2 following the arrest.

However, the law does have some provisions limiting what can be used in court. Any data obtained by law enforcement must be deleted within 15 days, unless the data is needed in a criminal prosecution.

Under the statute, data is not admissible as evidence in a criminal prosecution if it was obtained unlawfully, and it may not be used as probable cause to obtain a search or arrest warrant or detain a person if collected unlawfully.

In an interview with WATE, Knoxville Assistant Fire Chief Mark Willbanks emphasized that officials don’t want to overstep privacy with these tools.

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“We want to think about that, no matter what we do we think about people’s privacy and protecting any right that they can,” he said. “We want to make sure that we are doing everything we should do to make people feel comfortable in how we operate.”

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