BARNSTABLE, Mass. (AP) — A robotic dog is being thanked by state police in Massachusetts for helping avert a tragedy involving a person barricaded in a home.
The dog named Roscoe was part of the Massachusetts State Police Bomb Squad and deployed on March 6 in a Barnstable house after police were fired upon. Police sent in two other robots often used for bomb disposal into the house to find the suspect along with Roscoe.
The robot dog, which was controlled remotely by state troopers, first checked the two main floors before finding someone in the basement. The person, armed with a rifle, twice knocked over Roscoe before shooting it three times, disabling its communication.
The person then shot at one of the other robots and an outdoor swimming pool before police deployed tear gas and arrested them.