BARNSTABLE, Mass. — A robot dog helped Massachusetts police officers apprehend a suspect who had barricaded himself in a home with a rifle.
According to the Massachusetts State Police, troopers with the bomb squad responded to a home in Barnstable on March 6 to assist in a situation with an armed barricaded subject.
The troopers deployed two PacBot 510 robots and a SPOT four-legged robot, commonly referred to as a robot dog, to assist them in locating the suspect inside the home.
Tropper John Ragosa deployed the SPOT – nicknamed “Roscoe” – into the home, first in the top two floors of the home before going to the basement. After clearing the basement, Ragosa and Roscoe were about to check behind a door in the basement when the suspect suddenly appeared from a bedroom armed with a rifle.
The suspect reportedly knocked down Roscoe and began going the stairs. Unbeknownst to the suspect, SPOT robots have a self-righting function and Roscoe was returned to its feet.
Ragosa then had Roscoe walk up the stairs following the suspect, who was surprised to see the robot behind him. According to police, the suspect could be seen on Roscoe’s camera lifting his rifle in the robot’s direction before communication was suddenly lost.
Police said Roscoe was shot three times. The suspect also shot at PacBot robot that was outside a sliding door and missed.
The SWAT members at the scene later released tear gas inside the house and the suspect surrendered without further incident. He was taken into custody by Barnstable police.
Police said the use of Roscoe during this incident provided a stark example of the benefits of such robots during tactical missions involving armed suspects.
“The insertion of Roscoe into the suspect residence prevented the need, at that stage of response, from inserting human operators or a real dog, and may have prevented a police officer or K9 partner from being involved in an exchange of gunfire,” state police said in a statement.
Boston Dynamics, which manufactures the SPOT robots, is said to be replacing Roscoe in the near future. According to state police, they asked to keep Roscoe for research.
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