BERKELEY, NJ — Amid the recent surge in drone sightings spanning all of New Jersey, Berkeley Mayor John Bacchione expressed his frustration that state and federal government offices have hardly any information to share with concerned residents.
“It’s absurd,” a visibly frustrated Bacchione said at a recent Township Council meeting. Bacchione had recently attended a meeting regarding drones hosted by the state government which he said told him “absolutely nothing.”
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“They also said that there’s no risk to the civilian airspace, there’s no risk to civilian life, there’s no risk to civilian properties,” Bacchione said. But, he added, the state police said they didn’t know where the drones came from, who owns them or what’s in them.
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“How do we say there’s no risk to civilization?” Bacchione asked.
In a joint statement released Monday, Homeland Security, FBI, FAA and the Department of Defense said that they recognized concerns, but that there was no risk to anyone.
“Having closely examined the technical data and tips from concerned citizens, we assess that the sightings to date include a combination of lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones, and law enforcement drones, as well as manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and stars mistakenly reported as drones,” the joint statement reads. “We have not identified anything anomalous and do not assess the activity to date to present a national security or public safety risk over the civilian airspace in New Jersey or other states in the northeast.”
Bachhione said he would keep gathering information and share it with council and residents if he learned anything substantial.
“I’m a bit frustrated and disappointed in our protectors, our security in this country,” Bacchione said.
He said it was “really disturbing” that agencies like the FBI wouldn’t say what was going on.
“We’re on it. Scott [Tirella, township business administrator] and I are on it, every single day,” Bacchione said.
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