Last week, the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) in the United States filed a petition with the Supervisory Board demanding the use of robots with lethal force. This Thursday (1) SFPD succeeded approval and will be able to arm remote-controlled robots to shoot dangerous suspects🇧🇷

The policy allows police robots “to be used as an option for lethal force when the risk of death to members of the public or officials is imminent and outweighs any other available option for the use of force.” In a press release by Allison Maxey, a police spokeswoman, the robots were given permission to use weapons in “extreme circumstances in order to save or prevent further loss of innocent lives.” According to the information robots can be equipped with bombs and intercept suspects with the intention of disorienting or incapacitating them.🇧🇷 At the moment, the SFPD does not have pre-armed robots and does not plan to install lethal weapons on the 12 operational robots that it has.

The Supervisory Board expressed concern, but approved the petition

Currently, police departments around the world are investing in technology to strengthen their units. However, the request to use lethal force with robots is a novelty. At first, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors raised concerns about the use of the devices. However, as we can see, the petition was approved. The policy was discussed for two hours before it was adopted by eight votes to three🇧🇷

Board Chairman Shamann Walton voted against the decision and commented on his concerns about the passage: “We are constantly being asked to do something in the name of increasing the number of weapons and opportunities for negative interaction between the police department and people of color. It’s just one of those things.” Robots with lethal force increase the chances of police misuse of force, he said.

In 2016, Dallas police used a bomb disposal robot to kill a gunman who executed five officers during a rally. At the time, Dallas Police Chief David Brown said the officers “seeed no other option but to use our robotic bomb and install a device on its extension to blow up the suspect’s location.” Therefore, it will not be surprising if similar requests are approved in other regions of the United States.

Source: Edge

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