Police robot shares honours with force

Press, 18 May 1984, Page 20

Police robot shares honours with force

NZPA New York A police robot known as RMI-3 which helped end a violent 20-hour siege in January has been selected to share “Cop Of The Month” honours with members of a special strike force. The New York Police Commissioner, Benjamin Ward, presented the awards to the robot and nine officers of the department’s special operations division for their work during the siege on January 8 in Elmira, in upstate New York. jhe robot and operations}

team were called into action after the Elmira police cornered two armed suspects in a robbery-kidnap-ping at an apartment. Three Elmira officers were shot, one fatally, in a gun battle with the suspects, who also died in what the police described as either a double suicide or a murdersuicide that occurred during the siege. The New York officers flew to the scene, entered the apartment building and dispatched the robot inside a hallway to the upstairs apartment.

The robot, equipped with a camera, used its arm to fling the door open and survey the interior of the apartment, which was shown to the other officers on a remote TV screen. When the robot got to a rear bathroom, the screen showed the two slain suspects and the officers were able to enter the apartment. The New York Finest Foundation, which sponsors the awards, planned to present a $lOOO cheque to the department’s emergency service unit to buy equipment. )1(