On Tuesday, San Francisco voted 8-3 in favor of granting law enforcement the option to use lethal, remote-controlled robots in emergency situations.
The San Francisco Police Department can now deploy robots equipped with explosive charges “to contact, incapacitate, or disorient violent, armed, or dangerous suspect”.
Opponents of the policy fear it would lead to further militarization of the police force, which has been criticized for being aggressive with poor and minority communities.
In 2016, Dallas police used an armed robot for the first time to kill a holed-up sniper who had killed five officers in an ambush.
