Pass legislation now banning police from using weaponized drones and robots in our state. The window for action is closing fast — technology companies are already moving to fill the regulatory void, and once armed drones are embedded in law enforcement infrastructure, rolling them back becomes exponentially harder.
Right now, whether police can arm drones is governed more by corporate ethics than by law. Skydio CEO Adam Bry recently admitted that his company will not restrict customers from weaponizing their drones — reversing what many understood to be a firm policy. A company called Campus Guardian Angel is already launching armed drone pilot programs in Georgia and Florida schools this fall, with drones designed to crash into and shoot irritants at people. Demonstrations show these devices hitting stationary mannequins in controlled settings. That is not a safety solution — it is a liability waiting to harm bystanders.
San Francisco's 2022 ban on police using deadly force via robots was a start, but it doesn't go far enough. Any state ban must cover both drones and robots, and must prohibit all bodily harm — not just lethal force, but also kinetic strikes, pepper spray, rubber bullets, and tasers. Relying on tech vendors to police themselves is not a policy. Pass a real ban.
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