San Francisco Votes To Ban Use Of Forceful 'Killer Robots' By Police

In a sharp reversal, San Francisco officials voted Tuesday against a controversial policy that would have allowed police robots to use deadly force. The move comes after the city's board of supervisors voted 8-3 on Nov. 29 to allow high-ranking officers to authorize the use of remote-controlled robots to potentially kill suspects. "The people of San Francisco have spoken loud and clear: There is no place for killer police robots in our city," Supervisor Dean Preston said in a statement. "We should be working on ways to decrease the use of force by local law enforcement, not giving them new tools to kill people," Preston said. The "killer robots" were said to only be used in "extreme circumstances," Robert Rueca, a San Francisco Police Department spokesperson, said at the time of the approval.