The San Francisco Police Department or SFPD, in a draft document, has proposed the use of robots capable of “deadly force” and killing suspects while responding to incidents. The draft document outlines how the police department proposes to use its collection of 17 robots, although 12 are not operational, The Guardian reported.
Robots are generally used for inspection and bomb disposal. But the San Francisco Police Department in the US wants to use them for “criminal apprehensions, critical incidents, exigent circumstances, executing a warrant or during suspicious device assessments”, a US media report said. According to SFPD, the use of “deadly force” is justified in the face of imminent danger and lack of other options.
The SFPD proposal would also allow these robots to kill people “when risk of loss of life to members of the public or officers is imminent and outweighs any other force option available to SFPD”, according to The Guardian.
The draft document said giving robots the ability to kill (as these robots can be modified to add machines and grenade launchers) would assist officers with “ground support and situational awareness”. A version of the document has been approved by a committee. It awaits the decision of the full board next week.
