San Francisco Backtracks on Vote to Allow Police to Use Robots That Can Kill

SFPD said they'd only equip the robots with explosives, not guns, and only to deal with threats such as active shooters or terrorists, but amid backlash, the board has put the proposal on ice.

UPDATE 12/7: Not surprisingly, the idea of giving robots the ability to kill humans ruffled a few feathers. As the San Francisco Chronicle(Opens in a new window) reports, the Board of Supervisors backtracked on its approval this week, though it didn't axe the initiative entirely. Instead, it returned the issue to a committee, which will discuss the issue. So it could come up for a vote again.

On Twitter, Supervisor Gordon Mar said(Opens in a new window) he regretted voting to approve the measure and reversed his decision this week. "Even with additional guardrails, I've grown increasingly uncomfortable with our vote & the precedent it sets for other cities without as strong a commitment to police accountability. I do not think making state violence more remote, distanced, & less human is a step forward," he wrote.

Supervisor Hillary Ronen, who was among the initial "no" votes, tweeted(Opens in a new window) that "common sense prevailed" with this week's reversal. Supervisor Dean Preston, who also voted against it, said the update "is a crucial change that will make us all safer."

Original Story 11/30:

San Francisco has voted to allow police to use remote-controlled robots to kill, but only in emergency situations involving mass shooters or terrorist threats.

On Tuesday, San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors voted 8-3 to pass the controversial measure, despite objections from civil liberties and police oversight groups, the AP reports(Opens in a new window).

The measure permits San Francisco police to use deadly force through the department’s existing robots, which are currently deployed to diffuse bombs or conduct video surveillance. At the Supervisors board meeting, San Francisco police said it had no plans to arm the robots with guns. Nevertheless, the department wants the option to equip the robots with explosive charges in the event police officers need to deal with a deadly threat such as an active shooter.

San Francisco Board Supervisor Rafael Mandelman was among those who voted for the measure. On Twitter, he defended(Opens in a new window) his vote, saying: “Under this policy, SFPD is authorized to use these robots to carry out deadly force in extremely limited situations when risk to loss of life to members of the public or officers is imminent and outweighs any other force option available."

The AP also notes the measure was amended on Tuesday so that only a limited number of high-ranking police officers can authorize the robots to use deadly force.

However, San Francisco Board Supervisor Dean Preston still opposed the vote and criticized(Opens in a new window) the measure as a “dystopian military equipment policy” that local police could abuse.

“Allowing police to arm remote-controlled robots on the streets of San Francisco is dangerous, and like any other weapons used by police, will place Black and brown people in disproportionate danger of harm or death,” he wrote in a statement, which noted the city of Oakland scrapped(Opens in a new window) a similar measure involving armed robots last month. 

Other critics, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, fear the policy will open the door for more armed robots to enter US police forces. “Opposing police deploying deadly robots isn't sensationalist —it's informed by decades of military technology creeping into everyday policing,” the group wrote.

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