They used Boston Dynamics' Spot during two "incidents" — but haven't elaborated on them.

It's official: Police are testing out Boston Dynamics' robot dog

See Spot Fight Crime

A U.S. police force has tested the capabilities of a robot dog for the first time, but it's keeping mum on the exact details of the bot's use.

It’s Official: Police Are Testing Out Boston Dynamics’ Robot Dog

"All too often, the deployment of these technologies happens faster than our social, political, or legal systems react."

And used the suspected "theft" to search his home.

Cops charge man with theft for "stealing" their secret GPS tracker

Meth Mess

A man removed a GPS tracker he found on his car, but because it belonged to police, they were able to search his house for the "stolen" device.

Cops Charge Man With Theft For “Stealing” Their Secret GPS Tracker

If you pry a police GPS tracker off your car, should they be able to charge you with theft?

Blood alcohol content

Some machines had "serious programming mistakes." Another contained literal vermin.

Investigation finds breathalyzers are regularly inaccurate

Hold Your Breath

Inaccurate police breathalyzers are putting innocent drivers behind bars and guilty ones back on the road, according to a new investigation.

Investigation Finds Breathalyzers Are Regularly Inaccurate

An investigation found that one police department's breathalyzer had actual rats living inside.

Officers couldn't track him down — but this drone did.

Police drone catches fugitive living in remote cave

Man (in) Cave

Using a camera-equipped drone, police were able to track down a fugitive living in a tiny cave after escaping from a prison camp 17 years ago.

Police Drone Catches Fugitive Living in Remote Cave

After 17 years on the lam, the human trafficker is now back in prison.

But they might not know enough about the tech to make that call.

Most Americans trust cops with facial recognition tech

Survey Says

A new Pew survey focused on facial recognition tech found that most Americans trust law enforcement agencies to use the tech responsibly. 

Most Americans Trust Cops With Facial Recognition Tech

And nearly two-thirds think the tech is at least somewhat accurate.

It can tell how much you've smoked in the past 3 to 4 hours.

This startup created a marijuana breathalyzer

Blowing Smoke

A startup developing a marijuana breathalyzer just secured funding through Y Combinator, one of the world's top accelerators.

This Startup Created a Marijuana Breathalyzer

And it now has the backing of top accelerator Y Combinator.

The robots will be on duty 24/7, say officials.

China deploys its first robot traffic police

Robo Cops

A Chinese city has deployed police robots to help human officers deal with traffic problems, marking another way the nation is using tech to maintain order.

China Deploys Its First Robot Traffic Police

The bots are helping human officers maintain order on Chinese roads.

The technology "does not perform as well on people of color compared to whites, on women compared to men, or young people compared to older people."

Police body camera maker decides against using facial recognition

Cop Cam Crisis

The biggest supplier of police body cameras and software called Axon just called it quits on using AI-powered facial recognition systems for its devices.

Police Body Camera Maker Decides Against Using Facial Recognition

There's a growing backlash against using facial recognition for law enforcement.

Man takes police to court for scanning his face without consent

Surprise Scan

Police in the UK must defend their use of facial recognition tech in court for the first time, and the court's ruling could set a powerful precedent.

Man Takes Police to Court for Scanning His Face Without Consent

A crowdfunded court case could shape the future of facial recognition tech.

They substituted a grainy photo of their suspect with a high-res image of Harrelson.

Police catch Woody Harrelson look-alike using facial recognition

Familiar Face

NYPD detectives uploaded a photo of Woody Harrelson to their facial recognition system to find a suspect that they thought resembled the actor.

/ law-enforcement