Residents of New York City reacted to the NYPD’s “Digidog” patrolling with officers in a viral video shared Monday.
“I never seen nothin’ like this before in my life,” some said in the video. “Do you see this?”
“That shit move better than a dog,” a woman said behind the camera. (RELATED: ‘Robot Dogs’ Arrive At Air Force Base Ready To Patrol Remote Areas And Add Another Layer Of Security)
“Do you know what that is?” someone asked. “That’s R2D2,” another person responded.
The video was shared on Twitter by user THEE DON. Officers were seen walking a man in handcuffs out of the building and were followed by the robot dog.
WATCH:
Nah they really got these robot police dogs in NYC. This is wild pic.twitter.com/iG7CTPFevH
— THEE DON (@1800SPOILED) April 12, 2021
“Nah they really got these robot police dogs in NYC,” the user captioned the Twitter video, which had over four million views at the time this post was published. “This is wild.”
The Digidog is worth $75,000, weighs roughly 70 pounds and can run three and a half miles per hour, according to ABC 7. On top of that, the robot also reportedly features a camera, lights and a two-way communication system. The robot dog was introduced late last year, the outlet reported.
The Digidog has been criticized by politicians including New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who previously said the funding used should have gone towards under-resourced schools. Meanwhile, legislation was introduced in March to ban armed robot police dogs.
“This dog is going to save lives, protect people, and protect officers and that’s our goal,” NYPD Technical Assistance Response Unit Inspector Frank Digiacomo told ABC 7 during an interview published in December.
The Digidog has been used for different purposes including amid a hostage situation back in late February, according to The New York Times.