Robot Snatches Rifle From Barricaded Suspect, Ends Standoff (latimes.com)

Slashdot reader schwit1 quotes the L.A. Times: An hours-long standoff in the darkness of the high desert came to a novel end when Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies used a robot to stealthily snatch a rifle from an attempted murder suspect, authorities said Thursday. Officials said the use of the robot to disarm a violent suspect was unprecedented for the Sheriff's Department, and comes as law enforcement agencies increasingly rely on military-grade technology to reduce the risk of injury during confrontations with civilians.

"The robot was a game changer here," said Capt. Jack Ewell, a tactical expert with the Sheriff's Department -- the largest sheriff's department in the nation. "We didn't have to risk a deputy's life to disarm a very violent man."
It was only later when the robot came back to also pull down a wire barricade that the 51-year-old suspect realized his gun was gone.

Comments

They disarmed him?

[Calydor]

What happened to sending in the robot with a bomb to kill the suspect?

Re:They disarmed him?

[PrimaryConsult]

This deserves an up-vote; further proof that law enforcement agencies are actively trying to filter out anyone who thinks on the job. They thought an ex-marine would be trigger happy like the rest of them, forgetting that the actual marines need to think on their feet to avoid international incidents.

A little sensational?

[orlanz]

The boring short version: So they noticed the idiot left his gun at his feet while laying flat on his belly in a small dune with a wire fence. The operator extended the arm through the wire fence and yanked it out. With the police up front and a helicopter above, he didn't notice.

I guess ExtendaReach to the rescue? I feel sorry for the operators who don't get any credit. I wonder if those firefighter axes got similar treatment. "Firefighter Ax clears way out of burning building for trapped firefighter and baby."