A Massachusetts State Police robot dog was shot multiple times by an armed suspect during a tense standoff with police earlier this month, police said.
Units from the agency’s bomb squad rushed to a home in Barnstable, Cape Cod, on March 6 to assist SWAT and local police who responded to a report of a man allegedly holding his mother hostage at knife point. did.
The mother and another female resident were able to lock themselves up as suspects in separate areas of the residence. identified by Barnstable Police Justin Moreira, 30, barricaded himself inside and fired a rifle at officers.
The department’s mental health clinician tried to persuade Moreira to come out of the house peacefully, but Moreira refused and continued to periodically shoot at officers.
A four-legged robot dog nicknamed “Roscoe” was deployed to search the house for suspects. MSP said in a press release on Wednesday.. The robot, which was being controlled remotely by a police officer, spotted Moreira “suddenly emerging from his bedroom with a rifle.”
Police said Moreira pushed Roscoe and started climbing the stairs from the bedroom. However, the robot can recover, so she continued to pursue the man.
“The suspect was clearly surprised to find Roscoe behind him on the stairs, knocked the robot over, and raised the rifle in Roscoe’s direction,” police said in a statement. “The robot suddenly lost communication.”
Police later learned that Roscoe had been shot three times by the suspect and was incapacitated. After killing Roscoe, Moreira allegedly fired at a second robot outside the house’s sliding door, but instead hit an above-ground swimming pool in the backyard.
After seven hours of negotiations and a SWAT team spraying pepper spray throughout the house, he still refused to come out. In the end, he was taken into custody without injury.
Moreira was charged with multiple attempted murder charges and additional firearm charges, police said.
“This incident served as a clear example of the benefits of a mobile platform that can open doors and climb stairs in tactical missions involving armed suspects,” State Police said in a news release.
Police said using the robot “may have prevented officers from getting caught in the crossfire.”
State police took Roscoe to the manufacturer, Boston Dynamics, for a damage assessment. The company said it wanted to keep the robot for research, and police said they were considering replacing it.
