The mystery of the Winnipeg drone at Friday’s Arkells concert has been solved after the machine’s operator reached out over social media and posted the footage online.
Max Kerman, singer for Canadian alt-rock group the Arkells, said an unauthorized drone had flown around the performers Friday during their outdoor set at the Burt Block Party and that the band enjoyed engaging with it and were hoping to get the footage.
The drone operator, who posted the footage on Instagram without audio under the username shotskyhigh, reached out to the Arkells through a voice message published by the band Monday.
An unauthorized drone got up close and personal with Arkells lead singer Max Kerman at the Burt Block Party Friday.
“That was my drone, and I purposely didn’t put up any shots or anything, because, yeah, the police did come and check me out,” the operator said.
“But they were two very nice gentlemen, they just came and asked me if I had a permit for it, and they looked at my shots, they loved it, and they told me I should come work for the police force.”
After the show, Kerman posted a video to social media saying he had “sort of developed a relationship with the drone.”
“I’d signal it to come closer and then I’d sort of push it away and it would act accordingly. It turns out, that was an illegal drone.”
The operator said the footage showed a “wicked relationship” between the Hamilton-based rockers and the drone and thanked the group for asking police to be lenient.
Drone operators can face fines of up to $1,000 for flying in restricted areas, according to guidelines from Transport Canada.
Police were able to locate the operator of the drone during the show and told him he wasn’t authorized to operate it. The man left the area without incident.
A police spokesperson told the Free Press earlier this week privately owned drones must be operated away from bystanders, crowds, emergency operations and advertised events.
“The technology is amazing, we get it, but there are risks associated to it … People just need to be mindful of that because it’s going to compromise public safety if this drone malfunctions in any way,” Winnipeg Police Service Const. Jason Michalyshen said earlier this week.