Swat Secret Weapon a Dumbbell? (VIDEO)
Reports have suggested that the SWAT team's new secret weapon is a dumbbell, and it turns out that it's not so secret now.
The dumbbell is actually called the Recon Scout Throwbot, and is one very heavy duty camera.
"It's rugged, stealthy, mobile and unfailingly dependable, and it's designed to take whatever abuse the job demands," the manufacturer's website declared. "Throw it through a window, over a wall, or down the stairs and it lands ready-to-go. You can even drop it from an unmanned aerial reconnaissance vehicle."
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The device was meant to offer a second pair of eyes before it operator is required to enter potentially dangerous situations. It's remote control allows the user access before having to make a critical decision.
"Once deployed, you can control its movement at a distance using a hand-held operator control unit," the website explained. "The Recon Scout helps you explore hostile or dangerous environments by providing real-time mission-critical reconnaissance video that enables your teams to act quickly, safely and decisively."
The webstie also proudly boasts that SWAT teams in California, Minnesota, Atlanta, Florida, and Canada have all utilized the Throwbot during their missions.
Most recently, the police department in San Mateo utilized the Bot to access the situation during a bank robbery that had turned into a hostage situation.
"The police department in San Mateo, Calif., threw the robot into a hostage situation at a local bank," the Huffington Post reported. "The robot's camera helped locate two bank tellers who were safely rescued, police told Digital Justice."
Some seemed skeptical over whether the device would work, suggesting that it might interfere with SWAT protocol.
"Moronic. The number one thing any SWAT team should want going in is the element of surprise. Tossing this thing in basically says "Hey, we're coming in! Get your guns ready!!" Don Ketchum wrote on the Huffington Post blog.
"I'd hope that it will in fact save some lives, especially those of the law enforcement people using it. However they (police) better be exceptionally fast. It seems to me that the bad guy might be able to distroy, disable before the police get there, and possibly get away," John Sortino added.
