Dallas Robot

Dallas Police Chief David Brown on Monday defended the use of a bomb-carrying robot to kill the gunman who went on a shooting rampage last week targeting police and killing five officers.

Dallas police improvised when they decided to use a robot typically deployed to inspect potential bombs to instead deliver one to kill a gunman who had slain five officers at a march against police violence, the city's police chief said on Monday.

The strategy opens a new chapter in the escalating use of remote and semi-autonomous devices to fight crime and protect lives.

The gunman who fatally shot five Dallas law enforcement officers appeared delusional, taunted police during extensive negotiations by singing and "laughing at us" and wrote cryptic messages on a wall with his own blood before he was killed by a bomb-equipped robot, Dallas Police Chief David Brown said Sunday.

When Dallas police used a bomb-carrying robot to kill a sniper, they also kicked off an ethical debate about technology's use as a crime-fighting weapon.

A standoff between police and one of the suspects in a Dallas shooting spree, which left at least five police officers dead and seven others wounded Thursday night, ended after the suspect was killed when a robot delivered and detonated explosives where he was holed up, according to local law enforcement officials.

Dallas Police Chief David Brown on Monday defended the use of a bomb-carrying robot to kill the gunman who went on a shooting rampage last week targeting police and killing five officers.

Dallas police improvised when they decided to use a robot typically deployed to inspect potential bombs to instead deliver one to kill a gunman who had slain five officers at a march against police violence, the city's police chief said on Monday.

The strategy opens a new chapter in the escalating use of remote and semi-autonomous devices to fight crime and protect lives.

The gunman who fatally shot five Dallas law enforcement officers appeared delusional, taunted police during extensive negotiations by singing and "laughing at us" and wrote cryptic messages on a wall with his own blood before he was killed by a bomb-equipped robot, Dallas Police Chief David Brown said Sunday.

When Dallas police used a bomb-carrying robot to kill a sniper, they also kicked off an ethical debate about technology's use as a crime-fighting weapon.

A standoff between police and one of the suspects in a Dallas shooting spree, which left at least five police officers dead and seven others wounded Thursday night, ended after the suspect was killed when a robot delivered and detonated explosives where he was holed up, according to local law enforcement officials.