Los Angeles authorities are weighing whether they may legally block hobbyists from flying camera-equipped drones over police stations.

The inquiry was prompted Friday after the LAPD confronted a Southern California man outside its Hollywood station. The cops told him he was trespassing for using a drone to capture footage of the station's parking lot, and ordered him to stop. The incident is posted to YouTube.

“What concerns us is that they are filming over private property and it's gated – you’re looking at the layout of the police station, how we operate, personnel license plates,” police Lt. Michael Ling said. “It’s kind of like if it was your house, if they’re flying over your backyard you’d start asking questions about it.”

The man confronted by police for filming its station was Daniel Saulmon, 42. He has been arrested many times for recording police from the ground and recently took to the airways, using a drone to watch the waters.

"They bring up the expectation of privacy, I’m not buying it,” Saulmon told the Los Angeles Times. "Suddenly they’re talking about how I’m trespassing on a public sidewalk. They do not have an expectation of privacy…if you want privacy, build a roof."

The incident underscores the legal uncertainty surrounding the unmanned aircraft. Federal regulators bar the commercial operation of them, yet hobbyist such as Saulmon may operate freely so long as they are safely flying and do not accept payment for their services. [PDF]

Saulmon's voyage over the Hollywood station was nothing compared to a drone flight last month that nearly hindered firefighters battling a Northern California wildfire.