Metro Detroit police department receives new robot dog
TAYLOR, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) – The Taylor City Council approved a one-year lease for a robot dog for the police department last month, and on Tuesday, it was delivered to police headquarters.
Made in Ferndale, RADDOG's primary mission is to go into situations that could potentially endanger lives.
Although it's unarmed, it is equipped with five cameras.
"Instead of putting that officer at risk and possibly escalating a situation, we can send our robotic dog and take a look, be our eyes and ears and give us a layout of what's inside, where officers may have to encounter them at a later time," Taylor Police Department Chief John Blair said.
Taylor PD is the first in the metro to work with the manufacturer "Robotic Assistance Devices" to acquire this cutting-edge tool for policing.
"So that we can now evolve RADDOG moving forward through the cooperation of Taylor, so we can get feedback every day on exactly how RADDog is performing so we can make improvements when needed," said E. Troy McCanna, Senior VP, Revenue Operations Chief Security Officer at Robotic Assistance Devices.
Other major cities, like New York, have deployed robot dogs in search and rescue operations, like when a parking garage collapsed last spring, killing one person and injuring five others. The fire department there bought one for $75,000.
The price tag for the robot dog in Los Angeles was $278,000, but the police foundation donated it.
In Taylor, the city council approved the $32,500 one-year lease last month for the RADDog. However, it does not cost taxpayers anything; the funds come from money seized in federal forfeiture.
"We're going to become creative about how we fund this project. But again, we feel it's very valuable and can potentially save lives, prevent injury, and prevent officers from having to use serious force, including deadly force," Blair said.
Taylor police officers are still training with RADDOG, and that training is expected to be wrapped up by the end of the month.