By Madina Toure
The Brooklyn teacher who was arrested and charged with crashing a drone into the Louis Armstrong Stadium during a US Open match last week has a court date next week, according to the Queens district attorney.
At about 8:45 p.m. Sept. 3, Daniel Verley, 26, a science teacher at the Academy of Innovative Technology in Brooklyn, launched the drone from Flushing Meadows Corona Park and the airborne device crashed into a group of empty seats during the second-round match between Flavia Pennetta of Italy and Monica Niculescu of Romania, a police spokeswoman said.
Verley was issued a desk appearance ticket and will appear before a judge Sept. 16, according to a spokeswoman for DA Richard Brown.
The Academy of Innovative Technology declined to comment.
Chris Widmaier, USTA’s managing director of corporate communications, said the drone flew from the east into the stadium and that no one was hurt.
“Fortunately, in the immediate area there were no injuries,” Widmaier said. “Immediately following that incident, NYPD took control and started to investigate.”
Verley was arrested at 1 a.m. Sept. 4 and was charged with reckless endangerment, reckless operation of a drone and operating a drone in a New York City public park outside of the designated area for the devices, police said.
A spokesman for the city Department of Education said the DOE will monitor the case closely and that any disciplinary action will be taken based on the developments in the criminal case.
Brown said the incident demonstrates that drones cannot simply be considered children’s toys. He said the people operating unmanned aircraft are usually novices with little or no aviation experience.
“We were fortunate that no one was injured as a result of last night’s incident,” Brown said in a statement last Friday. “But we can’t rely on happenstance to protect the public. Those who engage in conduct of this nature will be held legally accountable for their actions.”
Reach reporter Madina Toure by e-mail at mtour
