After a deadly attack that left five officers dead with seven other officers and two civilians wounded, Dallas police deployed a bomb disposal robot strapped with explosives to kill the shooting suspect. The unorthodox use of the robot was called for after hours of failed negotiation with the trapped suspect.
According to a statement from Dallas Police Chief David Brown:
“We saw no other option but to use our bomb robot and place a device on its extension for it to detonate where the suspect was. Other options would have exposed our officers to grave danger. The suspect is deceased as a result of detonating the bomb.”
The shooting took place late Thursday night in downtown Dallas. A lone shooter, elevated in a parking garage, shot and killed multiple officers in an ambush attack. Police eventually cornered the suspect in a parking garage where they negotiated for hours before sending in the bomb-rigged robot.
Using a bomb disposal robot to purposely detonate explosives is certainly a first for American police. However, some report that bomb disposal robots have been repurposed for bomb delivery in military situations. Soldiers in Iraq have been noted to use the similar MARCbot as a way of detonating claymore explosives near insurgents.
It’s important to note these bomb disposal robots aren’t acting on their own. They are teleoperated by humans who, in deadly situations like the Dallas shooting, flip the kill switch.
Source: NBC
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