A resident of Castro Valley was accused on Thursday of slashing the tires of 17 Waymo robotaxis in San Francisco between June 24 and June 26, according to the city’s district attorney. The tire slashings were recorded by cameras placed on the outside of Waymo’s robotaxis. This is not the first time Waymo has faced vandalism issues in the Bay Area, where some residents have shown frustration with the autonomous vehicles.
San Francisco has a history of resisting robotaxis in general. In February, a group of individuals in the city’s Chinatown area committed an act of vandalism by setting a Waymo on fire. Approximately a year ago, other opponents of robotaxis placed traffic cones on top of the autonomous vehicles, which disabled them.
This time, Waymo’s technology managed to capture one of the alleged crimes on video. In an email to TechCrunch, Waymo confirmed that the San Francisco Police Department used footage from its vehicles’ exterior cameras to identify the suspect. Waymo spokesperson Katherine Barna stated that charges have been filed against the individual responsible for damaging several Waymo vehicles, some of which had passengers inside. Waymo is also working to recover the damages and prevent future incidents.
Prosecutors claim that these tire slashings, which occurred in the city’s Tenderloin neighborhood, are linked to another incident of robotaxi vandalism in San Francisco. In that case, the same suspect is said to have approached a three-car Waymo caravan and punctured their tires with a knife during the same timeframe.
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins expressed gratitude to the San Francisco Police Department for their thorough investigation. Jenkins emphasized that property destruction will not be tolerated in San Francisco, and those responsible for vandalizing property must be held accountable for their actions.
The suspect has pleaded not guilty to all 17 charges, and the damage to each vehicle is estimated to be over $400. Prosecutors have detained the suspect without bail, citing the potential public safety risk they pose. The suspect’s court date is scheduled for Friday, July 12.
Waymo stated that it carefully evaluates requests from law enforcement before providing access to its vehicles’ videos. The company rejects requests that lack a valid legal basis or are overly broad. The San Francisco District Attorney’s office declined to provide any further comments on the matter.
