US police rarely deploy deadly robots to confront suspects

A police officer uses a robot to investigate a bomb threat in San Francisco, on July 25, 2008. The liberal city of San Francisco became the unlikely proponent of weaponized police robots on Nov 29, 2022, after supervisors approved limited use of the remote-controlled devices, addressing head-on an evolving technology that has become more widely available even if it is rarely deployed to confront suspects. — San Francisco Chronicle via AP

SAN FRANCISCO: The unabashedly liberal city of San Francisco became the unlikely proponent of weaponised police robots last week after supervisors approved limited use of the remote-controlled devices, addressing head-on an evolving technology that has become more widely available even if it is rarely deployed to confront suspects.

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 8-3 on Tuesday to permit police to use robots armed with explosives in extreme situations where lives are at stake and no other alternative is available. The authorisation comes as police departments across the US face increasing scrutiny for the use of militarised equipment and force amid a years-long reckoning on criminal justice.