“Upon reflection, why didn’t they just starve him out?”
Exactly. The cost of the now destroyed robot, the cost of the explosive, and the cost of the coming litigation would easily have covered the expense of stationing officers to wait for the guy to either surrender, make a run for it, or kill himself.
The police ignored the law. They’re a big family, and this demonic POS killed some of their family, so they went for instant payback. Sure, it saves the taxpayer money for his incarceration, court costs, and eventual execution, but that’s not how the law works. If a demon murders one of my family, I’m not allowed to shoot him or blow him up once I have him cornered, but these guys are apparently exempt.
A surprising response from one named “Carthego delenda est”?
IIRC the Romans killed or captured the entire population of Carthage.
The terms of slavery for the survivors, may not have been so generous.