PHOENIX

Police use robots for more than just bomb disposal

Megan Cassidy
The Republic | azcentral.com
Maricopa County Sheriff's Office uses an ANDROS F6 robot that can carry up to 200 pounds. Phoenix-area law-enforcement agencies use bomb-squad robots for a variety of tasks. They're traditionally used to inspect or detonate suspicious packages, though they can also be used offensively.

Many law-enforcement agencies are equipped with robots apparently similar to the device that took down a sniper accused of killing five Dallas police officers Thursday night, authorities in Phoenix said.

Robots owned by Arizona’s Department of Public Safety and Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office traditionally are used by bomb squads to detonate or inspect suspicious packages, but can be deployed for any number of situations, officials said.

They can also be used as offensive weapons, as was the case in Dallas.

Damon Cecil, a spokesman for the Arizona state police, said one of the agency's robots can be equipped with a shotgun-like device.

“They shoot a slug into the (suspicious object) and it basically either causes it to explode or disables it,” Cecil said, adding that this technique only has been used on packages, not people.

Cecil said bomb-squad officials believe Dallas officers used an improvised plan with their robot. Based on news reports, it appeared they attached their own explosive to the device before sending it in.

Troopers have trained for this tactic, Cecil said, but primarily as a way to divert rather than to kill a suspect.

“It seems like what Dallas did was a heat-of-battle, improvised situation,” he said. “We use it (the robots) to perform several tasks in tactical operations to avoid putting our troopers in harm’s way.”

Cecil said the agency’s bomb technicians are versed on how to make explosives as well as how to disable them.

Thomas Mangan, a spokesman at the Phoenix field office for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, estimated there were thousands of such machines in circulation throughout the U.S. Every large police agency likely has at least one robot used by bomb squads or other tactical units, he said.

But Mangan added that he never had heard of robots being deployed in such a way— to neutralize a threat — in his 28 years in law enforcement.

“I commend them for using it,” he said. “It was insightful, and it saved lives.”

Joaquin Enriquez, a spokesman for the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, said robots also are commonly used in barricade or hostage situations. The devices are manipulated from a control station and are furnished with intercoms, 360-degree cameras and a claw that can open doors and lift packages.

“The tactical world has evolved into using robots first when you’re executing any kind of high-risk search warrant or you have a barricaded subject,” he said. “We use the robot all the time.”

An iRobot 501 Packbot can be carried using one hand.

MCSO has two different models, Enriquez said — the more “rugged” ANDROS F6, which can carry up to 200 pounds, and the iRobot 501 Packbot, which can be carried with one hand.

Teams have used the robots to deploy flash bangs, which cause that temporary blindness, he said.

“They can’t hear, they can't see, and it gives the tactical team the advantage to do something at that point,” he said.

Enriquez noted one instance in which a man was threatening suicide inside his home, pacing around with a shotgun. Deputies sent in the robot, which was able to establish “rapport” with the man and eventually reach out and clutch the rifle with its claw.

“We knew that if we went inside that house, it was going to be an officer-involved shooting,” he said. “That’s not the goal that we try to achieve.”

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