On Tuesday, the Los Angeles City Council discussed approving a $277,000 donation to equip LAPD SWAT units with a robotic dog made by Boston Dynamics that navigates via artificial intelligence, for use during active shooter and barricaded suspect situations.
“I would like to continue this item for 60 days,” Council President Paul Krekorian suggested without objection after more than an hour of intense public comment and discussion among the city council.
Dozens of speakers at Tuesday's meeting criticized the donation as a weaponization of the police department, saying it would be used to target Black and Brown communities. Backers of the donation denied such accusations, insisting the robot would provide another needed tactical advantage for SWAT officers in life-threatening situations.
“Everytime there’s a new technology of any kind being adopted it comes with benefits but it also comes with potential risks and especially the risk of unintended consequences,” Council President Paul Krekorian said during Tuesday’s city council meeting.
Krekonian said the two month continuance would allow the city council to hammer out conditional policies and respond to concerns raised by community-members and various council members. “When we bring it back we will have those policies before us as a condition of this gift,” the council president said.