Killer robots should not be as common as SWAT teams

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** For Immediate Release: February 6, 2023
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** Rutherford Inst. Urges Police Commission Not to Expand Power to Kill by Arming Robots for Deadly Force Against Citizenry
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SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — Once again, The Rutherford Institute has sounded the alarm over the dangers of equipping police with killer robots. ([link removed])

In a letter ([link removed]) to the San Francisco Police Commission, Rutherford Institute attorneys have urged the Commissioners to reject a renewed push by police for remotely-controlled, armed robots that can be directed to use deadly force against the citizenry.

“The last thing this country needs are police agencies armed with killer robots,” said constitutional attorney John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute and author of Battlefield America: The War on the American People ([link removed]) . “These robots signal a tipping point in the final shift from a Mayberry style of community policing to a technologically-driven version of law enforcement dominated by artificial intelligence, surveillance, and militarization. It’s only a matter of time before these killer robots become as common—and as deadly—as SWAT teams. Moreover, how long before mistakes are made, technology gets hacked or goes haywire, robots are deployed based on false or erroneous information, and innocent individuals get killed in the line of fire?”
MAKE THE GOVERNMENT PLAY BY THE RULES OF THE CONSTITUTION: SUPPORT THE FIGHT FOR FREEDOM ([link removed])

In 2021, California passed Assembly Bill 481, which requires law enforcement agencies to obtain approval from a county’s board of supervisors prior to taking certain actions relating to the funding, acquisition, or use of military equipment. The law also requires local law enforcement agencies to list and define the authorized uses of all military-grade equipment in their possession. Pursuant to that requirement, a proposed use of equipment policy was submitted to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors by the San Francisco Police Department. The SFPD has more than a dozen functioning, remote controlled robots, which are used to gain situational awareness, survey specific areas officers may not be able to reach, as well as investigate and defuse potential bombs, or aid in hostage negotiations. However, while the robots are not presently outfitted with lethal force options, critics warn
([link removed]) that it won’t take much in the way of weaponry and programming to convert these robots to killer robots. Indeed, some within the robotics industry have cautioned against weaponizing general-purpose robots, which could be used “to invade civil rights or to threaten, harm, or intimidate others.”

Nevertheless, in an 8-3 vote on Nov. 29, 2022, the Board of Supervisors approved a proposal to allow police to arm robots and use them as deadly force options “when risk of loss of life to members of the public or officers are imminent and outweighs any other force option available to the SFPD.” The subsequent outcry by civil liberties groups caused the Board to amend its decision, limiting police use of the remote-controlled robots for tasks like search and rescue but not deadly force. Undeterred, police indicated at the February 1, 2023 police commission meeting that they are still interested in re-submitting the proposal to authorize police use of lethal force with department-issued robots.

In reiterating The Rutherford Institute’s concerns, Whitehead warned ([link removed]) , “If these killer robots follow the same trajectory as militarized weapons, which, having been deployed to local police agencies as part of the Pentagon’s 1033 recycling program, are turning America into a battlefield, it’s just a matter of time before they become the first line of defense in interactions between police and members of the public.”

The Rutherford Institute ([link removed]) , a nonprofit civil liberties organization, provides legal assistance at no charge to individuals whose constitutional rights have been threatened or violated and educates the public on a wide spectrum of issues affecting their freedoms.

The letters to the Board of Supervisors ([link removed]) and the Police Commission ([link removed]) are available at www.rutherford.org ([link removed]) .

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Nisha Whitehead
(434) 978-3888 ext. 604
** [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])

THE RUTHERFORD INSTITUTE
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Phone: (434) 978-3888
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