A California man apparently fed up with a drone filming on his Orange County street swatted it out of the air, a man-vs.-tech attack seen in a viral video.
The company's owner has filed a report with the Huntington Beach Police Department and said that if the man doesn't pay for the drone, he'll sue in small claims court.
The drone was only two or three feet off the ground when a shirtless man walked up, saying the drone had better not fly over his house, according to the video, which was posted June 3. He smacks the drone with his shirt, knocking it to the ground and causing apparent damage to the propellers.
The people flying the $1,300 drone said they were shooting an instructional video on drone flight for a startup called Lucky 7 Drones.
"All I want is for the guy to bring me over a check that won't bounce or cash so that we can go replace this for our employee and move on with it," said Mike Luzansky, of Lucky 7 Drones.
The man seen in the video declined a request to speak with NBC4. He has not been charged with any crime, police said.
Huntington Beach Police Lt. John Domingo told The Orange County Register that the man, who did not identify himself to reporters, told police he feared the drone would be used to spy on his home.
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The case has been forwarded to the Orange County District Attorney for review, Domingo said.
In California, hobby use of drones is legal, as long as they're not used to look inside people's homes or fly in restricted airspace.
