Dallas Shooting: Police Use Of Bomb-Bearing Robot To Neutralize Sniper Raises Ethical Questions

Dallas, TX — Police on Saturday disclosed the "bomb robot" that was used to end the life of a gunman who killed five officers in Dallas and wounded seven others during what began as a peaceful rally on Thursday.

"When all attempts to negotiate with the suspect, Micah Xavier Johnson, failed under the exchange of gunfire, the Department utilized the mechanical tactical robot, as a last resort, to deliver an explosion device to save the lives of officers and citizens," Dallas Police Department officials said in a press advisory.

"The robot used was the Remotec, Model F-5, claw and arm extension with an explosive device of C4 plus 'Det' cord," they added, noting the weight of the charge was one pound.

Composition C-4 is a plastic explosive with a malleable texture similar to modeling clay, and can be molded into shapes.

The use of the tactical device normally utilized in fields of war has been met with mixed reactions from the public. Some make allowances for its use given the urgent need to end the carnage resulting from the attack — especially given that police were outgunned and the assailant was protected with tactical gear and bulletproof vest, making him all but impervious to defensive gunfire.

Yet critics are troubled by the use of the device, even in the midst of the attack. To be sure, the suspect was contained — essentially blown up — and the crisis was halted. But some see the suspension of his due process and the use of battlefield tactics as troublesome.

Dallas Police Chief David Brown defended the tactic in an earlier press conference. "We saw no other option but to use our bomb robot and place a device on its extension for it to detonate where the suspect was," he said, referencing the garage where Johnson had made his makeshift sniper's perch on the day of the attack.

Speaking to the Associated Press, New America Foundation robotics expert Peter W. Singer affirmed this was the first known use of such a tactic by police to neutralize a suspect.

In an interview with the Texas Tribune, Pete Blair, professor at the School of Criminal Justice at Texas State University, said the closest example came in Garland in May 2015, when police outfitted a robot with water-charging implements directed at a car potentially holding an improvised explosive device.

Willard Oliver, a professor of criminal justice at Sam Houston State University, a former police officer and retired military member, expressed mixed feelings when asked for reaction by the Texas Tribune: "Shocking. Stunning," he said. "But also very innovative. So I guess in the end, impressive."

Seth Stoughton, an assistant professor of law at the University of South Carolina — and former police officer — was more troubled by the unprecedented use of such a device to defuse a police situation.

“I’m not aware of officers using a remote-controlled device as a delivery mechanism for lethal force,” he told The Atlantic. “This is sort of a new horizon for police technology. Robots have been around for a while, but using them to deliver lethal force raises some new issues.”

Michael Kalichman, director of the Center for Ethics in Science and Technology, worried about the precedent the tactic might set in law enforcement.

“I think for all of us, the first issue that comes to mind is some degree of relief,” he told KHOU. “While it's premature to judge exactly what happened, it certainly seems likely that this ended a tragedy that could have been far worse. However, we also can't help but think about where this will go next.”

Former cop Dan Montgomery, an authority on police practice, told Time he sees no difference in engaging a suspect with such a robotic device than with more traditional methods. Both adhere to customary rules of engagement, he said.

"Admittedly, I've never heard of that tactic being used before in civilian law enforcement, but it makes sense," he told the magazine.

"You've got to look at the facts, the totality of the circumstances," Montgomery added. "You've got officers killed, civilians in jeopardy, and an active shooter scenario. You know that you've got to do what you've got to do to neutralize that threat. So whether you do it with a sniper getting a shot through the window or a robot carrying an explosive device? It's legally the same."

Johnson was killed instantly when the ordnance attached to the robot was activated. The former Army reservist was armed with a military-style, semi-automatic rifle when he fired on officers protecting peaceful protesters calling attention to the deaths of two black men by police in Minnesota and Louisiana just days before.

In a subsequent search of his home, police found bomb-making materials, ballistic vests, more rifles, ammunition and a personal journal detailing combat tactics, police said in a press release.