The chief executive officer of the company has authored a graphic novel depicting a Taser-armed drone stopping a school gunman at a daycare centre.
After several advisors resigned in protest, the firm that manufactures Taser weapons abandoned its intentions to furnish schools with drones equipped with stun guns in response to the shooting in Uvalde.
Rick Smith, the chief executive officer of Axon Enterprise, stated in a blog post headlined “how non-lethal armed drones may assist address school shootings” published earlier this month that the gadgets “might help prevent the next Uvalde, Sandy Hook, or Columbine.”
The concept of a drone that first responders may use to remotely fire at a target 12 metres (40 feet) away was announced in the aftermath of the school massacre in Uvalde, Texas, in which 19 primary school children and two teachers were slain.
According to a report by Reuters, nine of the company’s ethics advisory board’s twelve members resigned on Monday citing reservations about the proposal.
The board members stated that they resigned out of worry that the drones would cause harm to over-policed areas and protested Axon’s decision to reveal its plans without consulting them.
Mr Smith stated in a statement, “As a result of the input, we are suspending work on this initiative and refocusing our efforts to engage with key constituents to properly investigate the optimal next steps.”
Mr Smith had previously authored a graphic novel depicting a Taser-armed drone stopping a school gunman at a daycare centre.
According to Reuters, Axon first contacted its ethics board over a year ago regarding the drone concept, and the panel ruled 8-4 against piloting the device for police.
Reuters stated that despite this, Axon issued a public announcement about the technology, citing the company’s desire to end “fruitless arguments” on firearms in the wake of the Uvalde shooting.
In an interview, a member of the board expressed concern that drones “might worsen racial inequality, harm privacy through surveillance, and become more dangerous if other weapons were introduced,” the report noted.
Mr Wael Abd-Almageed, an engineering research associate professor at the University of Southern California, stated, “What we have right now is unsafe and irresponsible.”
The concept of a drone equipped with a stun gun “distracts society from finding actual answers to a tragic problem,” the resigned board members said in a statement.
The chief executive officer of Axon stated that the drones would be parked in hallways and could enter rooms through special vents; he estimated that the system would cost a school $1,000 (£800) per year.
