Backlash Against NYPD Use of Robotic Dog

 The negative  reaction to the use , by the N.Y.P.D., of a robotic dog in standoff encounters with potentially armed persons is misplaced and mainly mistaken. While there is a valid concern for possible invasions of civil liberties and a reasonable argument that the money spent on such devices might be better used for other needs, the use of these robots can help address the epidemic of police shootings of unarmed Black persons.

Properly regulated to insure compliance with the civil liberties of citizens and avoidance of discriminatory use, such devices can be used to defuse dangerous situations with a lowered risk of deadly force. For example, the police may gain assurance that a self-barricaded person is not armed and, therefore, may be apprehended without the use of deadly weaponry.
Though the use of these robots may be useful in very limited circumstances and will hardly remedy the distressing increase in police shootings, every life saved is sacred.