4 ms·

I'm not sure how your example fits in. The police didn't use a state of mind defense in the Dallas case--the suspect was shooting at police officers, which is,

by allenz 10y ago

I'm not sure how your example fits in. The police didn't use a state of mind defense in the Dallas case--the suspect was shooting at police officers, which is, objectively speaking, a violent felony. They couldn't capture the felon, so they decided that it was better to kill him than to let him get away. I think the state of mind defense is mainly used to justify killing an unarmed suspect in self-defense. One benefit of drones is that the pilots are in no immediate danger, so they can make better decisions.

maxerickson 10y ago
Was he actively shooting at the time? Looking around I see mixed reports. He was talking to them and fired on the robot when he saw it approaching, but I don't see any clear reports that there was ongoing gunfire.
- allenz 10y ago
  He was. "We cornered one suspect and we tried to negotiate for several hours. Negotiations broke down. We had an exchange of fire with the subject. We saw no other option but to use our bomb robot..."[1] Also he wanted to "kill more" officers, and it sounds like he confessed to killing the police officers.[1,2] Though killing him was legally justified, the use of a robot is troubling. NYT raises the possibility that they could have waited him out since they had him surrounded.[3] The robot makes it easy to get rid of a problem, but it sacrifices his right to a trial and the possibility, however remote, of rehabilitating him. [1] Video interview http://www.nbcnews.com/video/dallas-police-used-bomb-robot-to-take-down-gunman-who-shot-cops-721129539651 http://www.nbcnews.com/video/dallas-police-used-bomb-robot-t... [2] See "Inside the Standoff" http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Dallas-Police-Identify-Gunman-in-Dallas-Protest-Shootings-386015971.html http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Dallas-Police-Identify-Gunm... [3] https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/09/science/dallas-bomb-robot.html https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/09/science/dallas-bomb-robot...

by allenz 10y ago

maxerickson 10y ago

Was he actively shooting at the time? Looking around I see mixed reports. He was talking to them and fired on the robot when he saw it approaching, but I don't see any clear reports that there was ongoing gunfire.

allenz 10y ago
He was. "We cornered one suspect and we tried to negotiate for several hours. Negotiations broke down. We had an exchange of fire with the subject. We saw no other option but to use our bomb robot..."[1] Also he wanted to "kill more" officers, and it sounds like he confessed to killing the police officers.[1,2] Though killing him was legally justified, the use of a robot is troubling. NYT raises the possibility that they could have waited him out since they had him surrounded.[3] The robot makes it easy to get rid of a problem, but it sacrifices his right to a trial and the possibility, however remote, of rehabilitating him. [1] Video interview http://www.nbcnews.com/video/dallas-police-used-bomb-robot-to-take-down-gunman-who-shot-cops-721129539651 http://www.nbcnews.com/video/dallas-police-used-bomb-robot-t... [2] See "Inside the Standoff" http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Dallas-Police-Identify-Gunman-in-Dallas-Protest-Shootings-386015971.html http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Dallas-Police-Identify-Gunm... [3] https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/09/science/dallas-bomb-robot.html https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/09/science/dallas-bomb-robot...