The San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) has submitted a proposal for politicians to vote in favor of giving robots the ability to use deadly force in dangerous situations.
Robots have become SFPD's new help with law enforcement procedures, which is why the department wants them to be given the authority to kill sufficient threats.
Police Want New Robot Models To Have An Option To Use Force Against Criminals
The SFPD drafted a policy that outlines how robots can be used as an option to excerpt force when a member of the police force is in imminent danger that can result in loss of life.
According to The Verge, the members of the city's Board of Supervisors Rules Committee have been reviewing the policy, which did not indicate the new proposal in the original draft.
Aaron Peskin, Dean of the Board, argues that robots shall not be able to use force against any person, but the SFPD still pushes that robots should have the authority to kill suspects.
With this, Peskin eventually decided to accept the revision in the policies since he believes that there could be instances that that can be the only option.
After that, the Rules Committee unanimously voted in favor of the latest version of the draft last week, which will be reviewed by the Board of Supervisors on November 29.
At the moment, SFPD has 17 remotely piloted Remotec F5A robots, which the authorities want to use in training and simulations, criminal apprehensions, critical incidents, and other operations.
While most of these robots are used to diffuse bombs and to deal with hazardous materials, they also have an optional weapon system and a tool that can load 12-gauge shotgun shells.
"SFPD does not have any specific plan in place as the unusually dangerous or spontaneous operations where SFPD's need to deliver deadly force via robot would be a rare and exceptional circumstance," SFPD says.
Engadget writes that while the police department did not explicitly say that the robots will be allowed to take human lives, it has been an increasingly common modern warfare.
In the US Army, weaponized robots are used to hold various equipment such as grenade launchers, machine guns, and an anti-material rifle.
Read More: Police Robots Are Finally Here To Bust Criminals
Other Police Departments Have Used And Considered Weaponized Robots Before SFPD
According to Engadget, the police department using robots to carry out different functions is not new and has already been done before in the US.
In fact, in 2016, the Dallas Police Department used robots that carry out deadly actions with force for the first time in 2016.
They were bomb disposal robots of the same model owned by the SFPD that were armed with explosive devices to kill suspects when shot at.
However, using these robots in the Dallas PD's operations killed five police officers and wounded several others in an incident.
Last month, the Oakland Police Department also reported that they are considering using the same Remotec F5A robots equipped with shotguns to use sufficient force that can kill.
The Oakland PD eventually announced that they are dividing against it, and against the armed remote vehicles in the department, The Verge says.
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