Calif. Governor Vetoes Bill Prohibiting Weaponizing Police Drones, Robots

California Gov. Gavin Newsom helped state law enforcement this week with the veto of one bill and the passage of another.

Although he appreciated the reasoning behind the bill, Newsom said he couldn't sign Assembly Bill 2681 into law, according to a statement from his office. The proposed legislation would have prohibited the manufacture, modification, sale, transfer or operation of a robotic device equipped with a weapon, and that would have extended to law enforcement.

"I support the author's intent to prohibit the weaponization of an emerging technology and place common sense restrictions on potentially dangerous devices," Newsom wrote in a statement concerning his veto. "However, this bill would also prohibit beneficial law enforcement use of such devices. For example, when confronted with armed and barricaded
suspects, law enforcement agencies sometimes use remotely operated robots to deploy less-lethal force to drive these suspects into the open or protect officers from dangerous suspects."

Ultimately, Newsom said he felt the bill created too many obstacles at the cost of the public's safety. Critics of the governor's actions argued that the bill was designed to protect the safety and privacy of the state's citizens from potentially deadly incidents involving police drones and robots, The Sacramento Bee reports.

“Police are meant to serve and protect the public, not wage war against them," said George Parampathu, a legislative attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, wrote in a statement. "AB 2681 garnered bipartisan support in both the California Senate and Assembly, as Republicans and Democrats alike agree that deploying killer police robots on domestic soil is a step too far."

If it had passed, the legislation would have been the first of its kind in the country. The bill's author told the Bee she would reintroduce the legislation next year.

Along with the veto of AB 2681, Newsom also signed a quartet of bills targeting street sideshows and takeovers, according to the Bee. Such incidents have been creating dangerous situations for participants and police across the country.

The measures would increase the punishment for offenses during these incidents. In particular, law enforcement will have more flexibility to seize and impound vehicles involved in these illegal events that can tie up traffic, cause property damage and threaten lives.

“Sideshows are reckless, criminal activities that endanger our communities. We have seen too many people killed or hurt at these events,” said Newsom.