Montgomery Co. Department of Transportation scraps plan to use security robot in downtown Silver Spring

This article was written by WTOP’s news partner Bethesda Today and republished with permission. Sign up for Bethesda Today’s free email subscription today.

The Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) is scrapping a pilot program for a 420-pound robot on wheels that was introduced as a potential tool to help deter crime and surveil public parking garages, department spokesperson Emily DeTitta said in a Monday statement.

MCDOT is no longer moving forward with its plans for Parker, the security robot, due to a “heightened apprehension towards the government, especially among our minority population,” DeTitta said in the emailed statement.

Read more at Bethesdamagazine.com.

Elia Griffin, Bethesda Today

Bethesda Today, and its print publication Bethesda Magazine, is the primary source of local news in Montgomery County and was previously known as Bethesda Beat and MoCo360.

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