In San Francisco, no robots are deployed to stop criminals with "deadly force" for the time being.
After the district and city board of directors decided last week to use robots equipped with explosive devices, the committee surprisingly decided on Tuesday not to use the machines for the time being.
The Board of Supervisors' decision in favor of the so-called killer robots had previously triggered heated debates in the city, which is known for being liberal.
Opponents of using robots to fight crime have warned of possible militarization.
The police, on the other hand, announced that the machines were not equipped with weapons.
As the representatives of the San Francisco Police Department let know, in extreme cases the robots should be equipped with explosives to incapacitate armed violent criminals.
Although the police now have robots in many American cities, only once has one of the machines been mobilized to fight crime.
Six years ago in Dallas, Texas, police sent a robot equipped with explosive devices into a building where a former soldier was holed up and threatened further attacks.
Out of anger at the alleged police violence against African Americans, the shooter had previously killed five officers and injured nine people.
When the man didn't give up after hours of negotiations, the police used a robot with explosives and killed him.
In San Francisco, a committee is to discuss whether the 17 robots will be used in the future.
The city is one of the country's crime hotspots.
According to the Hoover Institution think tank, San Francisco is more likely than about 98 percent of all American communities to be a victim of a crime.
The city is therefore twice as dangerous as Compton near Los Angeles, known for decades for drug crime and gang wars.