By a narrow 4-3 vote, the Wichita City Council approved the purchase of a robotic dog for Wichita Police.
The original motion was for two robotic dogs, one for SWAT and the other for the bomb squad, at a price of $629 thousand.
While council members were supportive of WPD, a few expressed concerns with other deferred maintenance projects around the city, like mold remediation at several Wichita fire houses.
Police Chief Joe Sullivan said the robots would help his officers safely respond to incidents and keep the public safer as well.
The city says the updated purchase price for one robot comes out to around $340 thousand. The new robot will be able to work in situations that the department's current fleet of robots don't, like the cluttered interior of a home with several obstacles.
This technology has been used by a number of departments around the county. It was deployed at Super Bowl sites, the Indianapolis 500, and the Boston Marathon. It can test the air for chemical, biological and radiological threats.
