POLICE IN SAN FRANCISCO WILL BE ALLOWED TO USE KILLING ROBOTS

Wed 30 November 2022:

San Francisco city officials voted to give the city’s police the authority to use potentially lethal, remote-controlled robots in emergency situations.

The move was approved by an 8-3 vote after an emotionally charged two-hour debate, despite strong opposition from civil liberties and other police oversight groups in the city on the west coast of the United States.

Supervisor Connie Chan, a member of the committee that recommended the proposal to the full board, said she understood the concerns about the use of force, but that “according to state law, we are required to approve the use of these equipments. So here we are, and it’s definitely not an easy discussion.”

According to the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD), there are no pre-armed robots and no plans to arm robots with guns. When lives are at stake, however, the department may use robots equipped with explosive charges “to contact, incapacitate, or disorient violent, armed, or dangerous suspect” according to SFPD Spokesperson Allison Maxie in a statement.

“Robots equipped in this manner would only be used in extreme circumstances to save or prevent further loss of innocent lives,” she said.

Before it was approved, the proposal had been changed to make it clear that officers may only deploy robots after using all available force or de-escalation techniques or coming to the conclusion that they wouldn’t be able to subdue the suspect that way. Only a small number of senior officials have the authority to order the use of robots as a form of lethal force.

According to the department, San Francisco police presently has twelve operational ground robots that are employed to analyze bombs or serve as eyes in low-light conditions. They were bought in the years 2010 through 2017.

A new California law came into effect this year requiring police and sheriff’s departments to inventory military-grade equipment and seek approval for their use, amid concern the militarisation of the police was creating a climate among law enforcement that encouraged excessive force.

In a letter earlier this week, the San Francisco Public Defender’s office warned that granting police “the ability to kill community members remotely” went against the city’s progressive values. The office wanted the board to reinstate language barring police from using robots against any person in an act of force.

The Oakland Police Department scrapped a similar plan after public criticism on the other side of San Francisco Bay.

In 2016, Dallas police sent in an armed robot to kill a sniper who was holed up and had just killed five officers in an ambush. This was the first time a robot had been utilized to administer lethal force in the US.

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