Does Dallas shooting mean the beginning of killer robots in U.S?

Posted by | July 9, 2016 09:31 | Filed under: Planet Pot Luck


For the first time, a robot was used to detonate a bomb against a U.S. citizen. It was done to save lives of Dallas police officers.

“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,” Chief David Brown said in a press conference Friday morning. “Other options would have exposed our officers to grave danger. The suspect is deceased … He’s been deceased because of a detonation of the bomb.”

That use of a robot raises questions about the way police adopt and use new technologies. While many police forces have adopted robots—or, more accurately, remote-controlled devices—for uses like bomb detonation or delivery of non-lethal force like tear gas, using one to kill a suspect is at least highly unusual and quite possibly unprecedented…

Police forces have adopted remote-controlled devices for a wide variety of tasks in recent years, from tiny to large. These tools can search for bombs, take cameras into dangerous areas, deliver tear gas or pepper spray, and even rescue wounded people. Police used one small robot in the manhunt for Boston Marathon bomber Dzohkar Tsarnaev. In May, the Dallas Police Department posted on its blog that it had acquired new robots. Other law-enforcement agencies have experimented with flying “drones,” again more correctly remotely controlled aerial vehicles. So far, those uses appear to have been solely for surveillance. The Department of Justice said in 2013 that it had used drones in the U.S. on 10 occasions.

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Copyright 2016 Liberaland
By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.

24 responses to Does Dallas shooting mean the beginning of killer robots in U.S?

  1. Buford2k11 July 9th, 2016 at 09:40

    ok. we have now entered the Judge Dredd era…the Fourth Amendment is now as dead as the idea of our democracy…

  2. William July 9th, 2016 at 09:42

    Silly question. The alternative is to send a human in there. I’m all for using tech. to save lives.

  3. robert July 9th, 2016 at 09:52

    It’s not the robot we should be worried about Its allowing the cops to use “bombs” to take people out. Did they rule out arming the robot ( that has a camera ) with a gun / rifle to hold him while they try to take the shooter alive?

    • StoneyCurtisll July 9th, 2016 at 11:16

      After killing 5 cops and shooting half a dozen others….
      I doubt if “taking him alive” was on the top of their to do list..

      • robert July 9th, 2016 at 15:48

        From what I read the cops had him cornered in a parking garage and I know these robots can be mounted with rifles but what the hell,might as well take out the robot too with C-4 the 4th of July was kind of boring

  4. StoneyCurtisll July 9th, 2016 at 11:14

    Well I guess thats one way to do it…
    Send in a robot with a tennis ball size wad of C4 and detonate it..
    I suppose the DPD is now going to have to buy a new robot as well…
    Normally they could have waited him out, gassed him out or set fire to where he was hiding like they have done many times before, (concrete parking garages do not burn well)..
    After killing 5 cops and wounding 6 or more others, they wanted to end his rampage as quickly as possible.
    I dont blame them for blowing this guy up.

    • halfwayin July 9th, 2016 at 12:51

      For some reason I keep hearing the phrase “You have twenty seconds to comply”

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hzlt7IbTp6M

      • StoneyCurtisll July 9th, 2016 at 12:55

        I forgot about that bad movie…
        But I agree with your analogy~!

      • StoneyCurtisll July 9th, 2016 at 12:57

        ED 209 is far too small to fit in to confined spaces where a sniper be be hiding….:)

        • StoneyCurtisll July 9th, 2016 at 13:00

          Remove previous comment…

      • StoneyCurtisll July 9th, 2016 at 12:59

        What could possibly go wrong?

  5. anothertoothpick July 9th, 2016 at 12:21

    Remember folks, the only defence against a bad guy with an exploding robot is a good guy with an exploding robot.

    We are moving up the weapons chain..

    Good luck America.

    • The Original Just Me July 10th, 2016 at 02:08

      Now, what happens if, the Bad Guy has a detonator some where that goes off, when his heart beat stops ?

  6. anothertoothpick July 9th, 2016 at 12:24

    That reminds me! Are there any plans of bringing back my favorite TV show??

  7. Hirightnow July 9th, 2016 at 14:12

    As long as they’re not autonomous.

  8. Suzanne McFly July 9th, 2016 at 16:42

    We better watch what we wish for, this too will be abused.

    • The Original Just Me July 10th, 2016 at 02:04

      How about a little Gas that would have put him to Nighty Night ?

      • Suzanne McFly July 10th, 2016 at 06:37

        Maybe, but how would they have gotten that gas up there? You don’t want to risk another the life of another officer to throw it up there, you would of had to use the robot then wait it out and hoped it worked. They guy deserved to die IMO and they used it correct this time.

        • The Original Just Me July 10th, 2016 at 14:17

          Granted it is effective. But I’m at odds here. The Police can return fire for self protection and I have no problem with that. But a guided bomb to purposely Kill the suspect is boarder line. The Police are not the Judges and that would enter into Executioners. To apprehend suspects is their duty but to definitely kill suspects without a trial is—— Well, it is a New World we are living in.

  9. FightingFromTheLeft July 9th, 2016 at 22:14

    No.
    This was a clear-cut violation of his civil rights.
    He dies actively shooting, that’s one thing.
    But to retaliate against a suspect by killing him with a bomb is crossing the line.

    • whatthe46 July 9th, 2016 at 22:25

      you really didn’t think they were going to let him out alive right?

      • FightingFromTheLeft July 10th, 2016 at 17:05

        No 46, I didn’t.
        But this is a new low in America.

        • Gary Parillo July 10th, 2016 at 17:38

          Why is this a new low?They gave him several orders to surrender,according to their chief Mr.Brown.They may have figured they were dealing with someone highly trained in military kill tactics,which it turns out to be so.If they determined that during the altercation,they may have also figured he could have had a gas mask on him,hence sending the robot in with gas would have been ineffective and more lives would be lost.He was determined to kill,and to die for his twisted cause.Whats the diff if he goes down with bullets or with a bomb?Dead is dead.They probably saved many more lives by taking the action they took.

  10. The Original Just Me July 10th, 2016 at 02:03

    The Future is HERE ! NOW , Do We like IT ?

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