How Much Did San Francisco's 'Killer Robots' Cost? Less Than A Public Toilet

By Madison Hirneisen | The Center Square, The Center Square California

December 6, 2022

Updated Information

On Tuesday evening, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors decided to reverse course and voted 8-3 to prohibit police from using robots for deadly force in certain emergency situations. The story has been updated with details since initial publication.

(The Center Square) – "The initial costs for the San Francisco Police Department to acquire robots that could have potentially been used to kill people in certain emergency circumstances under a policy approved and then reversed by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors totaled under $1 million," according to an inventory sheet reviewed by The Center Square.

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors made headlines last week when it approved a new policy allowing police to deploy robots with deadly force in certain emergency situations. The board approved the policy in a split 8-3 vote last week, but ultimately reversed course on Tuesday night and walked back their approval.

"In a complete reversal, the Board of Supervisors just voted for a military equipment policy that bans police from using robots to kill," San Francisco Supervisor Dean Preston tweeted Tuesday night. "Thank you to all the residents and civil rights advocates who made their voices heard!"

"After approving an updated version of the policy that bans police from using robots to kill on Tuesday night, the supervisors voted separately to send the original copy of the ordinance with the killer robot provision back to a committee for review," according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

According to an inventory sheet by the San Francisco Police Department, "the initial costs of the robots vary from as little as $9,840 for a throwable micro-robot purchased in 2012, to as high as $267,955 for a robot the size of a riding lawn mower that was bought in 2012." The police department owns 17 robots in total, though five are not functioning.

"In total, the initial costs of the robots totaled nearly $861,850," according to the SFPD inventory sheet. The department confirmed to The Center Square that this total is accurate. The police estimate the cost to maintain the various police robots is estimated to be $1,445 a year.

The total initial costs for the robots as recorded on the police inventory sheet totaled less than the cost of a public toilet in San Francisco, which has reportedly cost the city $1.7 million and caused a controversy earlier this year.

The city has already purchased seven models of robots between 2010 and 2017. The city estimates that robots have a lifespan of 8-10 years and five of the city's previously purchased robots have already reached or exceeded that lifespan.

The police department did not have an initial cost associated with the Remote F6A, a heavy-duty robot that has stair-climbing ability and an arm that can lift 65 pounds. A 2009 report by the state of New York had the cost of a fully loaded Remote F6 at $306,936.

Prior to the board's reversal Tuesday evening, the controversial new policy approved by the board of supervisors last week evoked concerns about police using military-grade weapons to potentially kill. "Dallas police became the first in the nation to use a robot to kill a suspect in 2016, arming a robot with a deadly explosive," according to the Texas Tribune.

San Francisco police told supervisors last week the robots would “only be used as a deadly force option when risk of loss of life to members of the public or officers is imminent and outweighs any other force option available to SFPD.” The SFPD said they had no plans to outfit robots with any type of firearm, but in “extreme circumstances” the robots could have been used to “deliver an explosive charge to breach a structure containing a violent or armed subject” that could potentially be lethal.

The SFPD explained that with the board's approval, the robots would “only be used to save or prevent further loss of innocent lives,” including in situations to incapacitate a “dangerous subject who prevents a risk of loss of life.”

“The use of robots in potentially deadly force situations is a last resort option,” San Francisco Police Chief William Scott said in a statement last week following the board's initial approval. “We live in a time when unthinkable mass violence is becoming more commonplace. We need the option to be able to save lives in the event we have that type of tragedy in our city.”

Under Assembly Bill 481, law enforcement agencies are required to get approval from their applicable governing bodies before using new or existing equipment. The law also gives governing bodies a say in how the equipment is used.

The board of supervisors was divided over the use of force policy concerning the robots, passing it in a split 8-3 vote last Tuesday. Supervisors in support of the measure acknowledged extraordinary circumstances where lethal force could stop someone from doing more harm, while those against it raised concerns about potential misuse of “military-grade technology,” as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle.

Prior to the board's meeting Tuesday evening, one supervisor who voted in favor of the measure last week announced he had planned to reverse course.

San Francisco Supervisor Gordon Mar tweeted that he voted for the policy last week when additional “guardrails” were added, but said he now has “regret.”

“Even with additional guardrails, I've grown increasingly uncomfortable with our vote & the precedent it sets for other cities without as strong a commitment to police accountability,” Mar tweeted Monday. “I do not think making state violence more remote, distanced, & less human is a step forward.”

“I cannot and will not support this policy moving forward,” he added in a later tweet.

Managing Editor Tom Gantert contributed reporting for this story.

Corrections and Clarifications

This story has been edited since initial publication to clarify that the Board of Supervisors approved the policy allowing robots to be used to deliver deadly force in certain emergency situations last week.

The focus of the work of The Center Square California is state and local-level government and economic reporting that approaches stories with a taxpayer sensibility.