We had a drone scare in a town near where I live. It was dropping a “mysterious substance” on cars and houses. Turns out it was just a heron pooping on things.
Now, there are photos of the NJ drone, so I’m more inclined to believe this is actually a drone, but even still, consumer drones are getting better and cheaper. This could easily just be a teenager having fun.
So the only difference is that if you survive your encounter with the police you can get some taxpayer money?
I think people would be more upset about a secret foreign police force if they had any sort of faith in the non-secret local police.