Amid the protests against police brutality spreading across the country, Dallas is still haunted by the death of five officers at the hands of a lone gunman. However, some were concerned by the manner in which the police ended a standoff with 25-year-old Micah X Johnson, the suspect behind the shooting. The standoff ended early Friday morning when the police detonated a bomb robot, killing the suspect. The Dallas Police Department defended its action saying that the bomb was "a last resort." In a statement published Saturday, the Dallas Police Department said, "When all attempts to negotiate with the suspect, Micah 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." Police used the Remotec, Model F-5 with claw and arm extension and an explosive device of C4 with a "Det" cord.

In the mourning over the murders of five police officers in Dallas, and relief that the standoff had ended, one unusual detail stuck out: the manner in which police killed one suspect after negotiations failed. "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.