Robots

Before Dallas, Police used robots to capture Boston bomber and secure Aurora scene

Domestically, police departments across the country have been using the technology thanks to the military’s 1033 Program, which distributes surplus military equipment to police departments. SWAT teams have used robots modified with an X-ray to detect and safely detonate explosives.

In 2012, police used a bomb-removal robot to enter the apartment of Aurora, Colorado movie theater shooting suspect James Holmes. After killing 12 people, Holmes told law enforcement he had rigged his apartment with explosives. The robot was sent in a third-story window and disabled potential improvised explosive devices and fuel near the door to the apartment.

“This apartment was designed to kill whoever entered it,” Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates said, following the operation. The robot also found containers of accelerants, as well as wires and fuses throughout the apartment that it successfully neutralized so law enforcement could safely enter and search the apartment.

The following year, police used a robot to apprehend Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was hiding in a boat beneath a tarp.

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/national/article88567267.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/national/article88567267.html#storylink=cpy