They paid for RoboCop — but got Bender.

The operators of La Guardia Airport are paying thousands of dollars every month renting a security robot to patrol the airport — but the bot is creeping out women while the crooks look on and laugh.

“It’s upsetting to have that thing creep up on you,” said one female security guard at the airport, adding that she had just fended it off with a luggage cart.

“It’s a pain in the ass. It keeps bothering people.”

The airport deployed the R2-D2-esque Knightscope K5 three months ago to roll around outside Terminal B, recording everything with its four cameras, microphones and sensors.

LaGuardia Gateway Partners, which operates the terminal, wouldn’t say how much it’s paying for the blue-and-white machines, but Knightscope says it typically rents the droids out for between $6,500 and $8,300 a month.

Human guards at the airport say it’s supposed to thwart the scammers and illegal cabdrivers who plague the parking lot — but is more WALL-E than T-1000.

“They just laugh at it. They walk around the bot and take people into their cars. It’s a waste of money,” said one high-level security specialist at the airport.

“They could have renovated three of our bathrooms for the same money. We could have gotten some working sinks.”

Even the hustlers agree.

“I didn’t even notice it. I thought it was sales,” said an illicit cabdriver named Mohammad.

But the Dalek-style droid does appear to spend its day sniffing around workers and travelers.

The aforementioned female guard blamed male colleagues for hijacking the bot to “get a better look” at her.

Several other female passengers said they were irked when the machine rolled up and ogled them Thursday.

“It was coming right up to me, and at first, I was like, ‘What the freak is that?’ ” said Kris Cabagnot, 31, after the robot sat 10 inches away from her knee for a minute.

Strangely, when people get close to the K5, it says, “You are in my personal space,” according to workers.

But some people are ready to bow down to their new robot overlord.

“It’s fun. I like how it moves and the color. It’s fun to play with,” said 6-year-old Justice McNair after flying in from North Carolina.

The terminal’s operator said it was just testing the tech in an effort “to create a new, state-of-art Terminal B.”

“The concept is in the testing phase right now, patrolling the arrivals level,” said a LaGuardia Gateway Partners spokesman.

“Capabilities include video surveillance; the ability to broadcast recorded and live messages in the event of an incident; and the ability to ensure it avoids people and objects in its path.”