---
title: "Florida Man Shoots Down Police Drone Because It Was “Harassing” Him"
description: "50-year-old Wendell Goney from Mount Dora, Florida, shot down a police drone, the property of the local Lake County Sherriff's Office, with a rifle."
date: "2021-07-14"
modified: "2021-07-14"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/florida-man-shoots-down-police-drone"
categories:
  - "Drones"
  - "Robotics"
  - "Robots and Machines"
tags:
  - "drones"
  - "florida"
  - "police drone"
  - "the digest"
---

# Florida Man Shoots Down Police Drone Because It Was “Harassing” Him

![50-year-old Wendell Goney from Mount Dora, Florida, shot down a police drone, the property of the local Lake County Sherriff's Office, with a rifle.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/florida-man-shoots-down-police-drone.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Image via Pixabay/Futurism\</em\>*

## Shoot It Down

Not everybody is happy with law enforcement's use of surveillance drones.

50-year-old Wendell Goney from Mount Dora, Florida, took matters into his own hands and decided to shoot down a police drone, the property of the local Lake County Sherriff's Office, the [*Orlando Sentinel* reports](<https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/crime/os-ne-mount-dora-man-shoots-down-sheriffs-drone-20210713-zgbbt7fd2zgjxdimjpzgylbodq-story.html>).

The reason? He "thought it was trying to harass him," according to his arrest affidavit, as quoted by the *Sentinel*.

## Crash and Burn

Local law enforcement says Goney shot the drone with his .22 caliber rifle twice before going back inside his home. The bullets caused it to fall out of the air and catch fire after colliding with a nearby structure.

The local sheriff's department deployed the drone while investigating a burglary nearby.

Goney has a history of run-ins with the police. He was convicted of aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer back in 2013, according to the *Sentinel*.

After shooting down the drone, he is now facing a number of new charges, including possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and criminal mischief.

So let that be a lesson to you. If you have a standing criminal track record, it may not be the best idea to shoot police property out of the sky.

**READ MORE:** [Mount Dora man shot down sheriff’s office drone ‘harassing’ him, sheriff’s office says](<https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/crime/os-ne-mount-dora-man-shoots-down-sheriffs-drone-20210713-zgbbt7fd2zgjxdimjpzgylbodq-story.html>) \[*Orlando Sentinel*\]

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)