News Release

D.C. Resident Cited for Illegal Drone Operation Near Washington Monument

Date: October 9, 2015
Contact: Sgt. Anna Rose, 202-619-7163
Contact: Jenny Anzelmo-Sarles, 202-619-7177

WASHINGTON – At 1:20 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 9 the United States Park Police and United States Secret Service responded to an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), or drone, spotted flying in the vicinity of the Washington Monument. Flying any kind of UAS or drone anywhere in Washington, D.C. or in national parks is illegal. 

Officers from both agencies made contact with the operator after the individual lost control of the drone and it landed on the Ellipse. The United State Park Police issued Howard Solomon III, from Washington, D.C., a citation and confiscated the drone and other equipment used to operate it. 

United States Secret Service located the F182 6 Axis Quadcopter on the Ellipse, just inside the entrance at 16th St. and Constitution Ave. and turned it over to the United States Park Police. 

Federal law prohibits flying all unmanned aircraft, more commonly called drones, in the heavily regulated Flight Restricted Zone around Washington, D.C., including from private property inside the FRZ. Additionally, launching, landing, or operating unmanned aircrafts is prohibited in all areas administered by the National Park Service. Know Before You Fly! To learn more visit https://www.faa.gov/uas/no_drone_zone/dc/. 

This is the ninth incident involving illegal operation of an unmanned aircraft system in a Greater Washington area national park in 2015, and the 26th since 2013. 

### 

About the National Park Service: More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America’s 408 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov. 

About the United States Park Police: USPP supports the mission of the National Park Service by providing law enforcement to safeguard lives, protect national treasures and symbols of democracy, and preserve the natural and cultural resources entrusted to the care of the National Park Service. USPP officers are located in the Washington, New York, and San Francisco metropolitan areas. The force was created by President George Washington in 1791.