Axon halts plans to arm drones with Tasers to stop school shootings
Axon Enterprise announced the plan to equip drones with Tasers after the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas that resulted in 19 children and two teachers dead.
An Arizona-based Taser-developer has halted plans to manufacture drones equipped with stun guns to combat mass shootings.
The move by Axon Enterprise came after most of its ethics advisory board announced their resignation in protest over the plan. Nine of the 12 members quit over concerns that it would harm over-policed communities and that it was announced without their consultation.
"In light of feedback, we are pausing work on this project and refocusing to further engage with key constituencies to fully explore the best path forward," Axon CEO Rick Smith said in a statement.
The ethics board was approached more than a year ago about Taser-equipped drones.
TEXAS REP. ON UVALDE SCHOOL SHOOTING: 'WE ARE TIRED OF THE INACTION
This photo provided by Axon Enterprise depicts a conceptual design through a computer-generated rendering of a taser drone. Taser developer Axon says it halted plans to build drones armed with the electric stunning weapons that could fly in schools a (Axon Enterprise, Inc. via AP / AP Newsroom)
The panel voted 8-4 last month against running a limited policy allowing the technology, Reuters reported.
"I wouldn’t be surprised if there were resignations," ethics board member, Ryan Calo, a law professor at the University of Washington, at the time. "I think everyone on the board has to make a choice about whether they want to stay involved."
Fox Business has reached out to Axon.
Axon was prompted to announce last week that it was working on the ambitious undertaking following the May 24 shooting deaths of 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas.
The company initially said it was working on a drone that would allow first responders to remotely fire a Taser at a target from 40 feet away. Smith said the drones could be stationed in hallways and move into rooms and through vents. The system would cost a school district $1,000 annually, he said.
The aftermath of the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills / AP Newsroom)
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"We're doing this because we care," Smith said during an "Ask Me Anything" chat on the online forum Reddit on Friday. "We're a business so ultimately we have to find a financial model that works, but at the end of the day we've been successful because our mission drives our business and we solve problems we care about."