Robotic dog assists police during standoff
October 25, 2022 - A 3-year-old is safe, and a suspect is in custody following a four-hour standoff with police early Tuesday morning. The St. Petersburg Police Department said a domestic incident occurred at 11:39 p.m. Monday night at a home on Norfolk St. N., near 18th Avenue. Police were called around 12:30 a.m. and were told that Matthew Perkins, 32, was “acting erratically” and took the child. With the assistance of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office helicopter, officers located Perkins on Gandy Boulevard. He then crashed his truck under the I-275 overpass and refused to negotiate with police for four hours. Officers closed Gandy in both directions during the standoff. The SWAT team deployed its robotic dog, SPOT, to make provide a live video of Perkins and the child. Police also attempted to communicate through SPOT. At about 4:30 a.m., due to a heightened concern for the child’s safety, officers moved in and extracted the boy and arrested Perkins without injuries.