ATLANTA , Georgia ( CNN ) -- It 's midnight on the streets of Atlanta , and bar owner Rufus Terrill patrols his neighborhood with a rolling crime fighter of his own creation . Meet `` Bum-bot , '' as Terrill describes it ; others in his neighborhood call it simply , `` Robocop . '' This former BBQ smoker is armed with a water gun to chase off bums and drug dealers in downtown Atlanta . It 's a barbecue smoker mounted on a three-wheeled scooter , and armed with an infrared camera , spotlight , loudspeaker and aluminum water cannon that shoots a stream of icy water about 20 feet . Operated by remote control , the robot spotlights trespassers on property down the street from his bar , O'Terrill 's . Using a walkie-talkie , Terrill belts out through the robot 's loudspeaker , `` That 's private property . You guys need to get out of here . '' Terrill is chasing out unsavory-looking characters from a street corner that resembles a drug dealer 's dream at night . More than 20 suspicious people were seen huddling in the dark in the front driveway and side parking lot on this night . Some were seen openly making drug deals . Watch `` Bum-bot '' in action » . But during the day , it 's where young children frolic on a nearby playground at a the Beacon of Light Daycare Center in downtown Atlanta . It has become a nightmare for day care operator Lydia Meredith . `` This whole square is enveloped with homeless people and drug dealers , defecating , urinating , prostituting -- the whole nine yards . And the overflow of that behavior , we get to cleanup every morning , '' she says . Meredith says people often toss used syringes and condoms onto the playground . Terrill , an engineer by trade , is also a board member at the day care center . Tired of cleaning up after the shady characters , he decided to take action . That 's when he built his downtown Darth Vader of sorts . `` He 's a neighborhood vigilante , '' says Meredith , `` and when he came up with this -- you know , I call it Robocop -- I said , 'Praise God . ' `` The daycare center is a block from a homeless shelter . Meredith has a security guard at the center who leaves in the early evening . `` They know when the guard leaves , '' she says . `` They know when the cleaning crew leaves and then here comes the drug dealers to prey on the homeless people . '' Anita Beatty , the director of the shelter , is suspicious of the barbecue-smoker robot . `` I just think the whole 'Robocop ' spraying people is a little freaky . We really need some police protection in this neighborhood . I think it 's confusing the issue . I think the issue is homeless people . They are being confused with the folks who prey on them and sell them drugs , '' she says . Atlanta police patrol the area , but say it 's difficult to stay on top of the large number of people who roam the streets in the area late at night . Police Major Lane Hagin says the robot is definitely a different crime-fighting idea . `` There 's no problem with the robot going up and down the street or being visible or any of the other things it does -- with the exception of spraying water on people . '' Hagin adds , `` Then , it becomes an assault no matter where it happens . '' So far no one has filed charges against Terrill or the robot . But one homeless man who declined to give his name followed Terrill and his robot down the street and laughingly told him , `` I know about you . I can sue you for assault . '' Terrill says he 's not hurting anyone and often sprays the water to the side of loiterers as a ploy to get them to move on . He 's also not about to back down . `` If you 're throwing condoms out on the side of the playground , if you 're throwing needles , you 're throwing crack pipes out there , I 'm not going to let those kids be out there like that . I 'm going to stop you . '' Terrill bought his bar four years ago knowing nothing about the restaurant business . He ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor of Georgia in 2006 . He 's had ongoing problems with people breaking into his bar and stealing things , but it was the day care center problems that spurred him on to create the robot . Some of Terrill 's bar patrons say they 've seen a difference in the neighborhood . Susanne Coe lives nearby . `` I 've seen a marked change simply with this robot that does n't have any power of arrest . It does scare people and to be honest with you I 'm grateful for it , '' she says . On this night , as Terrill and his robot make their way to the street corner , he shines the robot 's spotlight on the parking lot of the daycare center . One by one , the shadowy figures stand up , walk away and saunter down the street . `` Ninety-nine percent of the time , when I go up there and once I turn the spotlight on and I talk to them through the speaker , they leave , '' he says . E-mail to a friend .
Atlanta bar owner converts BBQ smoker into robot to chase off drug dealers , others . `` Bum-bot '' is armed with a water gun and loudspeaker . Cops frown upon spraying water at bystanders , say it could be assault .