The Spartanburg Herald-Journal of the fine city of Spartanburg, North Carolina, reports on an incident in which a robotic member of the police force delicately convinced a troubled young man to put down his gun, potentially saving the lives of his grandparents and girlfriend, who had been held hostage overnight.

The brave electronic public servant reported that his mere presence had a calming effect on the man, and that gaining his trust, persuading him to spare his hostages and embrace a life turnaround was one of the proudest moments in its term of service.

The Spartanburg Police Department spokesman reported a slightly different account of events:

Sheriff Chuck Wright said the standoff ended when the SWAT team sent a robot into the house after Black didn’t answer the phone. Upon seeing the robot — which carries a video camera and microphone — Black put down his 9 mm pistol and surrendered, Wright said.

Thus continues the integration of the Silicon-American into the rich melting pot of society.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 16th, 2007 at 10:32 am and is filed under Bill Joy Might Be Right, This Is So Blade Runner. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.