A Castro Valley resident was charged Thursday for allegedly slashing the tires of 17 Waymo robotaxis in San Francisco between June 24 and June 26, in accordance with town’s district lawyer.
Prosecutors say the tire slashings have been captured by cameras put in on the outside of Waymo’s robotaxis. This is the most recent incident of Waymo vandalism within the Bay Area, the place some residents have expressed frustration with the autonomous autos.
San Francisco has a historical past of revolting towards robotaxis extra broadly. In February, a crowd of individuals within the metropolis’s Chinatown neighborhood dedicated one other act of robotaxi vandalism by setting a Waymo car on hearth. Roughly a 12 months in the past, different robotaxi haters positioned visitors cones on high of autonomous autos, a hack that disabled the autos.
This time round, Waymo’s know-how appears to have caught one among these alleged crimes on video. In an electronic mail to TechCrunch, Waymo mentioned the San Francisco Police Department reviewed footage from the Waymo autos’ exterior cameras as a way to determine the suspect.
“We can confirm that charges have been brought against the individual who aggressively vandalized a number of Waymo vehicles, some with riders present,” mentioned Waymo spokesperson Katherine Barna in an electronic mail. “Waymo is also taking steps to recover the damages sustained, and mitigate the potential for future events.”
Prosecutors allege these tire slashings, which occurred within the metropolis’s Tenderloin neighborhood, are linked to a different case of robotaxi vandalism within the metropolis’s information. In that case, the suspect Ronaile Joshua Burton is alleged to have approached a three-car caravan of Waymo autos and stabbed a knife into their tires throughout the identical time interval.
“I would like to thank the San Francisco Police Department for their careful investigation in this case,” mentioned San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins in a press launch. “The destruction of other people’s property will not go unaddressed in San Francisco. People who vandalize property must be held accountable for their actions.”
Burton has pled not responsible to all 17 prices. The injury to every car is estimated at greater than $400. Prosecutors positioned the suspect in custody with no bail whereas awaiting trial, citing the “public safety risk” they pose. Her court docket date is ready for Friday, July 12.
Deputy Public Defender Adam Birka-White, who’s representing Burton, mentioned in a press release that his consumer is in want of assist and never jail. The public defender’s workplace intends to aggressively combat these prices, he mentioned in a broader assertion that additionally criticized the District Attorney’s workplace for prioritizing the punishment poor folks on the behest of firms.
Waymo says it fastidiously critiques any requests from legislation enforcement earlier than handing over its autos’ movies. The firm says it challenges, limits or rejects requests that would not have a sound authorized foundation or are overbroad, and has finished so previously.
The San Francisco District Attorney’s workplace declined to remark additional.
Correction: This story initially misstated the residence of the suspect. 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 Birka-White and clarifies that Burton makes use of she/her pronouns.
