A Castro Valley man was charged Thursday with allegedly slashing the tires of 17 Waymo robotaxis in San Francisco between June 24 and 26, in keeping with District Legal professional of the Metropolis.
Prosecutors say the tire slashes have been captured by cameras mounted on the skin of Waymo’s robotaxis. It is the most recent occasion of Waymo vandalism within the Bay Space, the place some residents have expressed frustration with autonomous autos.
San Francisco has a historical past of robotaxi rebellions extra broadly. In February, a crowd within the metropolis’s Chinatown neighborhood dedicated one other act of robotaxi vandalism, putting in a Waymo automobile on hearth. A few yr 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 a kind of alleged crimes on video. In an e mail to TechCrunch, Waymo mentioned the San Francisco Police Division reviewed footage from Waymo autos’ exterior cameras to establish a suspect.
“We are able to verify that expenses have been filed in opposition to a person who aggressively destroyed a number of Waymo autos, a few of which have been accompanied by drivers,” Waymo spokesperson Katherine Barna mentioned in an e mail. “Waymo can also be taking steps to restore the injury brought about 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, suspect Ronail Joshua Burton allegedly approached a caravan of three Waymo autos and plunged a knife into their tires on the similar time.
“I wish to thank the San Francisco Police Division for his or her thorough investigation of this matter,” he mentioned. San Francisco District Legal professional Brooke Jenkins in a press launch. “Destruction of different folks’s property won’t go unnoticed in San Francisco. Individuals who injury property should be held accountable for his or her actions.”
Burton has pleaded not responsible to all 17 expenses, with injury to every automobile estimated at greater than $400. Prosecutors have ordered the suspects held with out bail pending trial, citing the “menace to public security” they pose. A courtroom listening to is scheduled for Friday, July 12.
Deputy Public Defender Adam Birka-White, who represents Burton, mentioned in a press release that his shopper wants assist, not jail. The general public defender’s workplace intends to aggressively battle the fees, he mentioned in a broader assertion that additionally criticized the district lawyer’s workplace for prioritizing the punishment of poor folks on the behest of firms.
Waymo says it rigorously 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 executed so prior to now.
The San Francisco District Legal professional’s Workplace declined additional remark.
Correction: This story initially misrepresented the suspect’s residence. They dwell in Castro Valley. The article has additionally been up to date with a press release from Burton’s lawyer, Deputy Public Defender Adam Birkey-White and clarifies that Burton makes use of she/her pronouns.