Should robots working alongside law enforcement be used to deploy deadly force?
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is weighing that question this week as they consider a policy proposal that would allow the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) to use robots as a deadly force against a suspect.
A new California law became effective this year that requires every municipality in the state to list and define the authorized uses of all military-grade equipment in their local law enforcement agencies.
The original draft of SFPD’s policy was silent on the matter of robots.
Aaron Peskin, a member of the city’s Board of Supervisors, added a line to SFPD’s original draft policy that stated, “Robots shall not be used as a Use of Force against any person.”
The SFPD crossed out that sentence with a red line and returned the draft.
Their altered proposal outlines that “robots will only be used as a deadly force option when risk of loss of life to members of the public or officers are imminent and outweigh any other force option available to the SFPD.”
Read more at NPR.org
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