San Francisco vote to allow police use of deadly robots spurs concern and outrage

A vote by San Francisco city supervisors in support of allowing police to use robots to kill people in emergency circumstances has drawn criticism from experts in law enforcement and security who say it could lead to dangerous and unintended consequences.

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to advance an ordinance that includes a controversial policy that would give city police the ability to deploy robots to use lethal force in extraordinary circumstances “when risk of loss of life to members of the public or officers is imminent and officers cannot subdue the threat after using alternative force options or de-escalation tactics.”

After a contentious debate, the members of the board voted 8 to 3 in support of the policy, which will need to pass another vote by the board on Dec. 6 and then be signed by the mayor for it to become law.

The vote came about after California passed a law last year requiring law enforcement departments to seek approval for use of military-style equipment.

“I don’t think that we’ve done enough research" or that...