San Francisco Could Approve The Use Of Killer Robots Tuesday: Report

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — The San Francisco Board of Supervisors will vote Tuesday on a proposal that could see city police using robots to kill, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Police robots are not new; in fact, the department has had 17 of them since around 2010, San Francisco Police Department spokesperson Robert Rueca told the Chronicle. But the proposal could change how military-grade weapons are equipped, and how they are used.

In fact, certain robots could be furnished with explosive charges to apply lethal force to those “who pose a risk of loss of life to law enforcement,” Rueca said.

“Given what we’ve seen with school shootings and terrorism and the realities of the 21st century, I think we absolutely should have the most advanced technology to deal with those kinds of threat, and this is what that is,” District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, who is on the rules committee, told the outlet.

The vote comes in response to the new California Assembly Bill 481, which requires that law enforcement get approval to use their equipment and weaponry.

Read the full report in The San Francisco Chronicle.