On July 7, the Dallas Police Department Remotec Androx Mark V A-1 carried a pound of C4 to the brick wall on the second floor of El Centro Community College building that a killer who had murdered five police officers was standing behind, held it in place, and detonated it.
That act of heroism ended the life of the cop-killer and likely saved the lives of other members of the Dallas Police Department.
It was a dangerous mission the Remotec Androx Mark V A-1 embarked upon. The killer had entered into a standoff with police, mocking them and saying he'd kill even more officers given the chance. Dallas Police Chief David Brown had determined there was no way for SWAT officers to take out the attacker without being potentially shot and killed themselves.
That's when Mark V A-1 was called in. When the moment to take out the killer arrived, there was no time to position the explosives and retreat. Instead, the bot had to hold the C4 in place as it exploded. No human member of the department could have survived such a daring feat.
Mark V A-1, however, experienced only minor damage and was back on the job almost immediately.
Since the bot took out the military-trained, cold-blooded cop-killer, some have whined that using robots to take out violent suspects who are in standoffs with police presents an ethical dilemma. However, Chief Brown immediately shot down those concerns when he praised the role Mark V A-1 played in ending the deadly shooting spree.
"This wasn't an ethical dilemma, for me," Chief Brown told CNN in July. "I'd do it again to save our officers.
"I would use any tool necessary to save our officers' lives and I'm not ashamed to say it."
