North Highlands News — Sacramento County Sheriff’s deputies deployed their brand-new robot police dog for the very first time Wednesday — and it worked. The robot dog located a barricaded domestic violence suspect hiding in a backyard shed on the 7200 block of Washburn Way in North Highlands, California. I was on scene as it unfolded, and I caught the entire incident on camera from start to finish.
A deputy confirmed to me at the scene that the robot dog had only been in service since the day before. Day one of its real-world deployment — and it found a suspect who had barricaded himself inside a structure while monitoring deputies on his home surveillance cameras from his phone.
Livestream footage: Sacramento County Sheriff robot police dog deployment — 7200 block of Washburn Way, North Highlands, CA — April 30, 2026
The call originated as a domestic violence report. The suspect had assaulted his wife, who managed to flee the residence. When deputies arrived, he refused to come out. Sacramento County Sheriff responded in force — bringing the Bearcat armored vehicle, a full SWAT team, aerial drones, and the newly commissioned robot police dog.
With the suspect watching the entire response on home surveillance cameras via his phone, deputies broke the window of a truck parked in the driveway to clear it. A micro drone was then launched inside the vehicle to confirm it was empty before they moved on the structure.
SWAT deployed chemical agents into the truck, then rolled the Bearcat forward and knocked down a wooden fence to access the backyard. That’s when the robot dog went in. It located the suspect in a shed in the rear of the property. He surrendered without further incident.
I captured the robot dog walking out of the backyard and across the front yard after the suspect was taken into custody — one of the first public recordings of Sacramento County Sheriff’s new robotic K9 unit in action.
Robot police dogs have been adopted by law enforcement agencies across the country, but this marks a significant milestone for Sacramento County. The device is designed to enter dangerous environments ahead of human officers — clearing structures, locating suspects, and transmitting real-time video to commanders without putting deputies at risk.
Wednesday’s barricaded suspect call at Washburn Way was its operational debut. Within 24 hours of being placed into service, it performed exactly the function it was built for.
For more coverage of breaking incidents in the area, visit the North Highlands News page for ongoing live news updates from this community.
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