LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The City Council Tuesday is slated to vote on a twice-delayed proposal to accept the donation of a controversial so-called robot dog for use by the LAPD -- an issue that has caused protests from critics of the department and concern among some council members.
On May 5, council members moved to push the vote until Tuesday morning, citing a need for more time to consider the proposed donation of the $277,917 "Quadruped Unmanned Ground Vehicle."
It is being offered as a donation to the LAPD's Metropolitan Division by the Los Angeles Police Foundation.
Hugh Esten, a spokesman for Council President Paul Krekorian, said Monday that the robot is scheduled for a vote Tuesday, and that he did not think the matter would be held over again.
But Esten also noted that an agenda item can be continued indefinitely.
"Without continuation votes, an item expires in two years but a continuation vote is a council action and can keep an agenda item alive," Esten told City News Service in an email.
"This is a donation and may expire if the city doesn't accept it."
The council first discussed the donation in early March, and the matter met with hours of public comments. The council at that time delayed its vote for 60 days so members could further study the issue.
Council members were also urged to introduce proposed conditions on accepting the donation, such as receiving assurances about how and when the robot would be used.
On May 5, the vote was again delayed to give council members more time to ponder the proposal.
Activists have protested the donation, claiming the robot would become a tool for the LAPD to harass and conduct surveillance of Black and Brown communities.
LAPD representatives previously assured that the device would be used only in SWAT situations, hazardous-materials or search-and-rescue operations. Police also insisted the robot will never be equipped with any sort of weapons or facial-recognition technology, nor would it be used in any type of patrol operations.
Councilwoman Eunisses Hernandez previously expressed she had "grave concerns" about the device, and also questioned the long-term costs of the donated item.
Hernandez said in a statement she would be calling on her colleagues to "deny the donation of this technology once and for all."
"Our communities have been loud and clear: they do not want this technology in L.A.," she said. "We've seen these robot dogs crop up in other police departments around the country, including New York and San Francisco, where the community is similarly fighting back against bringing this kind of depersonalized, military-style technology to municipal police forces."
Councilman Hugo Soto-Martinez said, "At the heart of these questions is, does the community trust the LAPD? And I think the answer is no."
Other council members, however, defended the donation as adding a tool that would assist officers engaged in life-threatening situations.
Councilman John Lee noted that the ground-based robot is nimble and can perform tasks such as opening doors and accessing areas that aerial drones cannot -- providing a valuable tool in cases such as a barricade situation or other standoff.
"This has the ability to save lives," Lee said.
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