The San Francisco Police Department has proposed it could use robots with “lethal force” in response to incidents, according to a draft policy.
The document describes how the department proposes to use its collection of robots, of which there are 17 in total, although 12 are not operational.
Remote-controlled devices are typically used for area inspection and bomb disposal. A police spokesman told Mission Local. The department wants to use them for “training and simulations, criminal arrests, critical incidents, urgent circumstances, execution of a court order, or during evaluations of suspect devices,” according to the proposal.
The department’s new Remotec model robots have an optional weapon system, according to Verge, and their F5A model can load shotgun shells often used to detonate bombs. The QinetiQ Talon can also be weaponized. A model in use by the US military can be modified to add machine guns and grenade launchers, according to the site.
The SFPD proposal would allow these robots to kill people “when the risk of loss of life to members of the public or officers is imminent and outweighs any other force options available to the SFPD.”
He said allowing the robots to kill would help officers with “ground support and situational awareness.”
According to The Verge, the original version of the draft did not mention deadly force until a city board member added that “robots should not be used as a use of force against any person.” The department removed the phrase and reworded it in the statement justifying deadly force in the face of imminent danger and a lack of other options, according to Mission Local.
A version of the document has been approved by the supervisory board’s rules committee. A full board decision is expected next week.
The SFPD did not immediately respond to questions from The Guardian. A spokesperson for the department told the Verge it didn’t currently have “any kind of specific plan” regarding the use of lethal force by robots, as they consider it a circumstance that would require such force to be “rare and exceptional.”
