San Francisco becomes first US city to allow police robots to kill suspects

After a contentious debate, the policy that would permit officers to use ground-based robots to kill was approved.

According to the ordinance text, this would happen “when risk of loss of life to members of the public or officers is imminent and officers cannot subdue the threat after using alternative force options or de-escalation tactics.”

The legislation still has to pass a second vote and receive the mayor’s blessing next week. At the board meeting, Supervisor Aaron Peskin remarked that there may be a “remarkable case” in which they “would wish to employ lethal force to render, in some awful circumstances, somebody from being able to inflict additional harm.”

However, the policy was rejected by Supervisors Dean Preston, Hillary Ronen, and Shamann Walton. Preston stated during the meeting that there was zero evidence that the military-grade equipment was necessary and that there was a substantial possibility for misuse and abuse.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the board approved an amendment requiring one of two senior San Francisco Police Department commanders to approve the use of a robot for fatal force. The Washington Post was informed by police spokesperson Robert Rueca that the agency uses a fleet of robots and has no plans to arm them with weapons. However, he said that the robots might be equipped with explosive charges to penetrate reinforced facilities or could be used to “contact, incapacitate, or disorient” a hazardous criminal without endangering the lives of any officers.

Bill Scott, the chief of police in San Francisco, underlined that the robots’ deadly role would only be employed in extreme situations. He remarked, “These robots would be a last measure.” If we ever have to use that option, it would either mean that innocent lives have already been lost or are on the line. If that is the case, this would be our sole method of neutralizing the individual putting those lives in danger or the person who has already killed those lives. According to Scott, cops with particular training control the robots remotely. He said, “Our policemen who run these robots are highly well-trained and very good at what they do. He noted that the robots are neither “independent” nor “pre-programmed.”

According to Scott, only officers with the rank of deputy, assistant chief, or chief of police will be able to authorize the use of lethal force using the robots under the ordinance that was approved by the board of supervisors. He stated of the robots, “I simply want to restate and re-emphasize that the equipment is now in our hands. “I hope that we never need to use it in that way because we have never had to. However, if a catastrophe of that nature occurs in our city, we must have the opportunity to save lives.

According to Scott, the technique may be especially useful in locating suspects in large-scale shootings without endangering law enforcement personnel. He declared that “these incidents, these mass murders, are all too frequent.” We just need to provide our cops with the tools they need to do their jobs, and God forbid one occurs here. Scott referenced a state law that was issued in 2021 that mandates that police agencies get permission from the authorities that supervise them before collecting money for, acquiring, or utilizing military equipment.

Being open and honest about how we could utilize this equipment is what we are attempting to do in accordance with the law, he added. “We don’t want anyone to know it’s a secret. Nothing about us is hidden. In 2016, Dallas police killed an armed suspect suspected of killing five police officers by detonating an explosive device placed on a robot sent to the location where the suspect had sought cover.

This incident has been widely reported as the first known instance of US law enforcement using a robot to deploy lethal force.