James Bertini was in his backyard with his wife earlier this week when he looked up and saw this.
It was a drone taking aerial video for Crazy Mountain Brewing on Klamath Street, two doors down from Bertini, and Bertini was not happy about it.
"Common courtesy suggests that you get permission from your neighbor before filming him and his property, not to mention the invasion of privacy issue," Bertini wrote in an email to Crazy Mountain that he shared with Denverite.
"At first, I did not see the drone, and if it dropped from its place in the sky several hundred feet above me, it could have killed me."
With more and more businesses using unmanned aircraft systems to get video and photos, there are probably going to be a lot more conflicts like Bertini's.
Drones generally shouldn't fly over people's heads, said Allen Kenitzer, spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration. "We don't regulate or have any authority with privacy issues related to drones."
New drones rules from the FAA go into effect this month, but privacy issues still need be addressed by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, Kenitzer said.
People worried about drone pilots violating federal rules or local laws are encouraged to call their local police departments.
Tom Hoch, the owner of Mile High House Productions, which was operating the drone, says he didn't break any rules. The drone was getting shots of Crazy Mountain Brewery's operation on Kalamath Street with downtown Denver in the background.
"We weren't shooting them or their property," Hoch said.
His company has been using drones for about five years.
"More people are excited by it than freaked out about it," he said.
The video Mile High shot will probably be on Crazy Mountain's website eventually, owner Kevin Selvy said.
"Nothing of their property will be in the video," Selvy said. "The film was just for an in-house promotional video."
Business & data reporter Adrian D. Garcia can be reached via email at [email protected] or twitter.com/adriandgarcia.
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