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 line with the town’s district lawyer.

Prosecutors say the tire slashings had been captured by cameras put in on the outside of Waymo’s robotaxis. That is the most recent incident of Waymo vandalism within the Bay Space, the place some residents have expressed frustration with the autonomous automobiles.

San Francisco has a historical past for 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 on fireplace. Roughly a 12 months in the past, different robotaxi haters positioned visitors cones on high of autonomous automobiles, a hack that disabled the automobiles.

This time round, Waymo’s know-how appears to have caught considered one of these alleged crimes on video. In an electronic mail to TechCrunch, Waymo stated the San Francisco Police Division reviewed footage from its automobiles’ exterior cameras with the intention to establish the suspect.

“We will affirm that expenses have been introduced towards the person who aggressively vandalized quite a lot of Waymo automobiles, some with riders current,” stated Waymo spokesperson Katherine Barna in an electronic mail. “Waymo can also be taking steps to get well the damages sustained, and mitigate the potential for future occasions.”

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 identical suspect is alleged to have approached a three-car caravan of Waymo automobiles and stabbed a knife into their tires throughout the identical time interval.

“I wish to thank the San Francisco Police Division for his or her cautious investigation on this case,” stated San Francisco District Legal professional Brooke Jenkins in a press launch. “The destruction of different individuals’s property is not going to go unaddressed in San Francisco. Individuals who vandalize property have to be held accountable for his or her actions.”

The suspect has pled not responsible to all 17 expenses. The harm to every car is estimated at greater than $400. Prosecutors positioned the suspect in custody with no bail whereas awaiting trial, citing the “public security threat” they pose. Their courtroom date is ready for Friday, July 12.

Waymo says it rigorously opinions any requests from legislation enforcement earlier than handing over its automobiles’ movies. The corporate says it challenges, limits or rejects requests that do not need a sound authorized foundation or are overbroad, and has executed so up to now.

The San Francisco District Legal professional’s workplace declined to remark additional.

This story initially misstated the residence of the suspect. They reside in Castro Valley.