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AB 2681, by Assemblywoman Akilah Weber, D-San Diego, would have made it an infraction offense to manufacture, modify, sell, transfer or operate a robotic device equipped with a weapon.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has vetoed an Assembly bill that would have prohibited law enforcement from using weapon-equipped drones and robots.
AB 2681, by Assemblywoman Akilah Weber, D-San Diego, would have made it an infraction offense to manufacture, modify, sell, transfer or operate a robotic device equipped with a weapon. It very specifically did not include an exception for law enforcement, the Sacramento Bee reports.
In his veto statement , Newsom wrote that he supports Weber’s intent to place common sense restrictions on drones, but that he reserves the right of police officers to use robotic force.
“For example, when confronted with armed and barricaded suspects, law enforcement agencies sometimes use remotely operated robots to deploy less-lethal force to drive these suspects into the open or protect officers from dangerous suspects,” Newsom wrote, almost verbatim repeating the police lobby’s argument.