Drone dropped ‘object’ while passing over Staten Island, NYC: Retired NYPD policeman

A drone shot down a mysterious, glowing object Staten Island neighborhood – and according to a retired NYPD detective who reported the strange scene, the NYPD took the matter seriously and conducted four flybys in the area.

The shocking scene unfolded around 6:15 a.m. on Dec. 14 as John Scotto was smoking his morning cigarette, he told The Post.

“I said it was a small white light object,” said Scotto, 59, who was sitting on his Rossville porch when the 7-foot-long, 2-foot-wide rectangular drone came over the treetops of the dense forest. across the street.

Scotto, who retired from the NYPD in 2006, said the drone had white, red and green flashing lights, and moved slowly – “no faster than 20 mph.”

Whatever fell from the drone had a white light on it, Scotto said, and it disappeared in an instant.

“It fell from the drone and went very fast straight towards the ground,” Scotto said. “It immediately fell and disappeared from sight.”

The larger drone then hovered over his house momentarily, clearing his roof “by just 20 feet” before disappearing into the distance.

“Based on its size, I’m sure it was a military drone,” Scotto told The Post. “It wasn’t a toy.”

Scotto called 911 to report the fallen object, and within 15 minutes, the NYPD was on the scene — but were unsure how to handle the case. “They said there’s really no process on this.”

An NYPD helicopter soon arrived and passed over the forest four times, Scotto said.

The descending object seen by Scotto adds another layer of mystery to recent drone sightings in New Jersey and New York, which federal authorities have downplayed. The sightings of dangerous drones in both the states began more than a month ago.

The federal government has insisted that drones are actually misidentified manned aircraft, like helicopters and Cessna single-engine planes.

He has also said that they pose no threat to the people on the ground.

The Federal Aviation Administration temporarily banned drone flights on Thursday More than 21 cities in New Jersey And Another 30 in New York,

“I was angry more than anything else because the government is lying,” Scotto said. “lost my temper. They’re telling people they didn’t see the drone in the sky, and they’re giving lame excuses. This made me angry.”

Scotto said he spent 90 minutes “extensively searching” those woods “determined” to find the fallen object, but only found scratches on his feet, some golf balls, and “a bunch of baseballs that the kids had thrown.” Came back with “had lost”.

Scotto said he suspected the drones littering the night sky were busy surveying the area for any potential threats. He said he believes the implementation of the FAA restrictions is a good sign.

“They may have accomplished their mission,” Scotto said, surprised. “I hope that is the case and that whatever risk there was has now been removed.”

Arthur Erickson, CEO of drone maker Hylio, has two theories about what Scotto saw.

“I think we can safely rule out that it was a weapon or anything particularly dangerous that was dropped,” Erickson said. The FAA rarely allows payload drops, he said.

“I think it was either some scientific instrument, like a weather balloon type thing, that was dropped into the bay to measure something,” Erickson said. “It could have simply been a ‘dummy’ payload to simulate some type of mission. Perhaps just something soft and light to measure the accuracy of a drop.”

He said he suspects the feds are “simulating how an adversary actor would try to drop something dangerous from a drone and they’re just seeing how it would work physically.”