""It really takes a very subtle situational awareness to understand when it's ok to use less-than-lethal,"Ryan Calo, a law professor and drone expert at the University of Washington, told Ars.
"The problem is that it will be used too often because the perception that the stakes are not very high, because sometimes less-than-lethal can be lethal," he said. "So it strikes me that putting less-than-lethals on drones creates a double remove: the officer doesn't have situational awareness, and they don't know whether a conversation could de-escalate [the situation]. That's one thing, and second, the fact that it's less-than-lethals will mean that [police will] hesitate less and will use it more often."
"I hear a lot of ideas about drones, and this is one of the worst," Calo added."
- Date Published:08/27/2015
- Original Publication:Ars Technica