A Castro Valley man was charged Thursday with allegedly slashing the tires of 17 Waymo robotaxis in San Francisco between June 24 and 26, based on District Lawyer of the Metropolis.
Prosecutors say the tire slashes have been captured by cameras mounted on the skin of Waymo’s robotaxis. It is the newest occasion of Waymo vandalism within the Bay Space, the place some residents have expressed frustration with autonomous automobiles.
San Francisco has a historical past of robotaxi riot extra broadly. In February, a crowd within the metropolis’s Chinatown neighborhood dedicated one other act of robotaxi vandalism, putting in a Waymo on fireplace. A few 12 months in the past, different robotaxi haters visitors cones positioned on self-driving automobiles, a hack that disabled them.
This time, Waymo’s expertise seems to have captured one of many alleged crimes on video. In an electronic mail to TechCrunch, Waymo stated the San Francisco Police Division reviewed footage from its automobiles’ exterior cameras to establish the suspect.
“We will affirm that prices have been filed in opposition to a person who aggressively destroyed a number of Waymo automobiles, a few of which have been accompanied by drivers,” Waymo spokesperson Katherine Barna stated in an electronic mail. “Waymo can also be taking steps to restore the harm triggered and cut back the chance of future occasions.”
Prosecutors say the tire slashes, which occurred within the Tenderloin neighborhood, are linked to a different case of robotaxi vandalism at metropolis archives. In that case, the identical suspect allegedly approached a caravan of three Waymo automobiles and plunged a knife into their tires throughout the identical time interval.
“I want to thank the San Francisco Police Division for his or her thorough investigation of this matter,” he stated. San Francisco District Lawyer Brooke Jenkins in a press launch. “Destruction of different individuals’s property won’t go unnoticed in San Francisco. Individuals who harm property should be held accountable for his or her actions.”
The suspect has pleaded not responsible to all 17 prices. Injury to every automobile is estimated at greater than $400. Prosecutors have ordered the suspect held with out bail pending trial, citing the “menace to public security” he poses. A court docket listening to is scheduled for Friday, July 12.
Waymo says it fastidiously evaluations any requests from regulation enforcement earlier than handing over video of its automobiles. The corporate says it challenges, limits, or denies requests that lack a authorized foundation or are too broad, and has achieved so previously.
The San Francisco District Lawyer’s Workplace declined additional remark.
This story initially misrepresented the suspect’s residence. They reside in Castro Valley.