Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) took to Twitter Thursday afternoon for an indictment of “robotic dogs” used to aid police visibility on crime scenes.
Ocasio-Cortez highlighted a story from the New York Post on Thursday, calling out the New York Police Department (NYPD) for their recent deployment of “robotic dog” drones. According to the article in question, officers used the “digidog” to enhance situational awareness during a home invasion crime scene in the Bronx.
The quadrupedal drones enable their handlers to see its surroundings “in real time,” according to a spokesperson for the NYPD. The 70-pound dog moves at about three and a half miles per hour and can climb stairs. The NYPD also confirmed it can be used for two-way communication.
“This dog is going to save lives, protect people, and protect officers and that’s our goal,” Technical Assistance Response Unit Inspector Frank Digiacomo told ABC 7 in December. But the “squad” congresswoman was less than impressed, taking to social media to criticize the allocation of resources.
“…Robotic surveillance ground drones are being deployed for testing on low-income communities of color with under-resourced schools,” she wrote. “Please ask yourself: when was the last time you saw next-generation, world class technology for education, healthcare, housing, etc consistently prioritized for underserved communities like this?”
The popular progressive politician has regularly used social media as a proverbial soapbox, and even other members of her own party are not immune. On Tuesday, Ocasio-Cortez opened fire on the Biden administration’s newly opened child detention center. “This is not okay, never has been okay, never will be okay – no matter the administration or party,” she wrote at the time.
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