Deadly police robots are a dangerous idea, says San Francisco city supervisor

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TMZ.com

San Francisco is heading down a dangerous, slippery slope with its proposal to use robots capable of deadly force, according to the city’s president of the board of directors.

Shaman Walton joined us on Friday on TMZ Live and ran through a list of ways he believes the armed police robots could backfire and says hacking is a big problem.

In case you missed it, the San Fran board of directors approved the robots by a vote of 8-3… with Shamann being one of the few opponents. After approval, he said that voting against the policy did not make him an anti-cop, just a pro-people of color.

Critics fear that innocent POC could be disproportionately harmed if these robots are used at urban crime scenes.

To be clear, San Fran isn’t talking about “Robocop”-like androids — they’re talking about remote-controlled machines, similar to those already used by bomb squads. The difference is that these are armed with bullets and explosives.

Shamann says he just doesn’t understand the department’s rationale for using robots, and gives several examples where they wouldn’t be practical.

Proponents say the robots could be valuable in mass shooter situations — such as in Uvalde, TX — but Shamman says he and many parents would not find it convenient to send a robot when children could be injured or killed .

The bottom line for the supervisor is…save the robots and drones for military battlefields, not crowded cities full of innocent bystanders.