--- title: "NYPD Fires Useless Robot" description: "The New York City Police Department's Knightscope robot K5 has officially been retired and is now gathering dust in a subway station." date: "2024-02-02" modified: "2024-02-02" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/nypd-fires-useless-robot" categories: - "Robotics" - "Robots and Machines" tags: - "knightscope" - "new york city" - "nypd" - "the digest" --- # NYPD Fires Useless Robot ![The New York City Police Department's Knightscope robot K5 has officially been retired and is now gathering dust in a subway station.]() *\Image: TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images\* ## Early Retirement Last fall, the New York City Police Department [deployed]() a robot dubbed K5 at the highly trafficked 42nd Street subway station in Times Square. The 400-pound, five-foot-three automaton, built by Silicon Valley-based startup Knightscope, immediately stood out like a sore thumb, with New Yorkers dismissing it for being unable to do, well, cop things. Worse yet, it required several officers to babysit it at all times and was [foiled by the mere existence of stairs](), making it a useless nuisance with no clear upside. Roughly four months later, K5 has officially been retired, as the [*New York Times* reports](), and is now gathering dust in a forgotten part of one of the city's busiest subway stations. And considering the way people are talking about what was meant to be the latest and greatest in law enforcement — at least according to mayor Eric Adams — it never rose above being the butt of endless jokes. It's also a glaring example of law enforcement using public funds to invest in dubious technology while firing staff. We're looking at you, [NYPD robot dog](). ## Good Riddance Hilariously, K5's retirement has come as a relief to pretty much all parties involved, with one NYPD officer claiming he didn't want to be responsible for it, per the *NYT*. "I described it as a trash can on wheels, but it looks like the wheels aren’t even working at this point," executive director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Albert Fox Cahn told the newspaper. The NYPD envisioned having the robot deter crime by simply existing and communicating with anybody feeling unsafe. "This is below minimum wage," Adams said during a September announcement. "No bathroom breaks. No meal breaks. This is a good investment." But the robot ended up being far more of a headache than an extra pair of eyes. "Who cared for who?" one construction worker, who watched two officers accompany the robot, told the *NYT*. "The robot for the police, or the police for the robot?" **More on the robot:** *[NYPD Deploys Villainous-Looking Dalek in Subway System]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()