San Francisco lawmakers reversed course on Tuesday as they voted to ban police robots from using deadly force, one week after approving the practice, leading to a nationwide outrage, according to the Guardian and Associated Press.
San Francisco City’s board of supervisors voted unanimously to prohibit the San Francisco police department (SFPD) from using its 17 robots to kill people.
The board of supervisors sent the issue back to a committee for another review which keeps that door open to decide whether to allow lethal force in some circumstances.
Last week, the majority of the members on the 11-person board voted to allow robots to be armed with explosives and to use them to kill people in situations when risk of ‘loss of life to members of the public or officers is imminent and outweighs any other force option available to’ the San Francisco police.
To assuage concerns, the board added an amendment allowing The board had also added an amendment saying that only high-ranking officers would be allowed to authorise deadly force.
The decision to allow ‘killer robots’ was met with severe criticism and civil rights groups criticised the militarization of US police forces.
Proponents of the killer robots said use of lethal force would be used for killing people in extraordinary cases like active shooter situations and suicide bombing.
Hilary Ronen, who was among the three supervisors who were against such deployment, expressed relief and said common sense prevailed when other members voted against such deployment.
Another supervisor Gordon Mar said he regretted voting in favour of the move.
“I do not think robots with lethal force will make us safer, or prevent or solve crimes. I do not think making state violence more remote, distanced, & less human is a step forward,” Mar said.
The San Francisco Police Department can still send the equipment into dangerous situations while officers stay behind. The police department is known for its controversial history of using lethal force against civilians.
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