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NYPD’s use of robot dog during operation draws public outrage
by Franz Walker, Natural News:
A new video showing New York City police officers patrolling with a robot dog has drawn flak from various sectors.
The video shows New York Police Department (NYPD) officers exiting a public housing building in Manhattan on Monday, April 12, with a 70-pound robotic dog outfitted with lights, cameras and artificial intelligence.
The officers had come to the building to apprehend a man who they said had a gun and had been hiding in an apartment with a woman and her baby. But according to the officers on the scene, the robot dog had only stayed in the lobby and did not play an active role in the operation.
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The sighting of the robot do was met with outrage. Many bystanders during the operation were audibly voicing their displeasure at the robot.
“What the f*** is this is the exact right reaction,” said New York Times journalist Kara Swisher in a reply to the original tweet.
Even the person filming the video can be heard saying, “I ain’t never seen nothing like this in my life.”
Nah they really got these robot police dogs in NYC. This is wild pic.twitter.com/iG7CTPFevH
— THEE DON (@1800SPOILED) April 12, 2021
Use of robot dog draws criticism
The NYPD’s decision to deploy the robots was met with widespread criticism and raised privacy concerns earlier this year. Last February, the robot dog was used during an operation in a Bronx home to supposedly ensure that there was no one inside.
Throughout all this, the police have maintained that they’re using the technology to save lives.
“The NYPD has been using robots since the 1970s to save lives in hostage situations and hazmat incidents,” stated the NYPD in a tweet last February. “This model of robot is being tested to evaluate its capabilities against other models in use by our Emergency Service Unit and Bomb Squad.”
But despite the reassurances, many remain unconvinced. Many have condemned the robot as a stark example of police power and misplaced priorities in light of the supposed issues that led to the widespread anti-police riots last year. (Related: French Army testing Boston Dynamics’ robot dog in combat scenarios.)
“You can’t give me a living wage, you can’t raise a minimum wage, you can’t give me affordable housing; I’m working hard and I can’t get paid leave, I can’t get affordable child care,” said Rep. Jamaal Bowman, a Democrat representing parts of the Bronx and Westchester County, in a tweet. “Instead we got money, taxpayer money, going to robot dogs?”
