Atlanta City Council member Liliana Bakhtiari has introduced legislation that would prohibit the Atlanta Police Department from acquiring autonomous weapons capable of using lethal force without human oversight. The measure, introduced Monday, is called the H.A.L.T. Act — short for Human Authority over Lethal Technology. It would bar the department from purchasing or otherwise obtaining autonomous weapons systems. Bakhtiari said she developed the proposal after U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced the creation of an “autonomous warfare command.” She has argued that local governments should establish limits before such technologies become more widely available to police departments. The proposal is scheduled to go before the City Council’s Public Safety and Finance committees. Atlanta officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The measure would address a technology that raises questions about who is accountable when an automated system makes a life-or-death decision. Bakhtiari’s proposal would set a city-level restriction on police acquisition, rather than wait for the technology’s use to become a local issue.