LA City Council votes yes on LAPD 'Robot Dog'

The Los Angeles City Council voted Tuesday to accept the donation of a controversial so-called robot dog for use by the LAPD.

The $277,917 "Quadruped Unmanned Ground Vehicle" was offered as a donation to the LAPD's Metropolitan Division by the Los Angeles Police Foundation, and the offer could have expired if the council did not accept it.

The council first discussed the donation in early March, and the matter met with hours of public comments. Needing more time to mull over the donation, members delayed their vote for 60 days so members could further study the issue. On May 5, the vote was again delayed to give council members more time to ponder the proposal.

Finally, on May 23, city council members accepted the donation, in an 8-4 vote, with the provision that LAPD provides quarterly reports about when the robot is used and the outcomes from its deployment as well as any other issues that may come up with its use. The council also granted itself the authority to suspend its use at any time. 

The robotic dog has caused protests from critics of the department and concern among some council members. During Tuesday's public comment time, most members of the public who spoke on the robot urged the council not to accept the donation saying it would only be used to further criminalize and harm the Black and Latino communities of the city.

LAPD representatives previously assured that the device would be used only in SWAT situations, hazardous materials or search-and-rescue operations.

"All this does, and a lot of the technology like this used by these SWAT teams and tactical officers, all this does is prevent the officers from having to go into the houses themselves," said retired police sergeant Patrick O'Malley 

Police also insisted the robot will never be equipped with any sort of weapons or facial-recognition technology, nor would it be used in any type of patrol operations.

Councilwoman Eunisses Hernandez previously expressed she had "grave concerns" about the device, and also questioned the long-term costs of the donated item.

Hernandez said in a statement she would be calling on her colleagues to "deny the donation of this technology once and for all."

"Our communities have been loud and clear: they do not want this technology in L.A.," she said. "We've seen these robot dogs crop up in other police departments around the country, including New York and San Francisco, where the community is similarly fighting back against bringing this kind of depersonalized, military-style technology to municipal police forces." 

Councilman Hugo Soto-Martinez said, "At the heart of these questions is, does the community trust the LAPD? And I think the answer is no."

Experts said this project hinges upon oversight. 

"I just like to see more accountability," said retired LAPD senior detective supervisor Timothy Williams Jr. "And you got to have legal accountability. And, in my opinion, judicial accountability. That would mitigate a lot of issues that can come down the pike as relates to lawsuits and things of that nature."

Other council members, however, defended the donation as adding a tool that would assist officers engaged in life-threatening situations.

Councilman John Lee noted that the ground-based robot is nimble and can perform tasks such as opening doors and accessing areas that aerial drones cannot -- providing a valuable tool in cases such as a barricade situation or other standoff.

"This has the ability to save lives," Lee said.