During recent protests in Los Angeles against immigration raids, multiple Waymo autonomous vehicles were vandalized and set on fire. Protesters, expressing their dissent, slashed tires, broke windows, and spray-painted messages on the vehicles. The LAPD warned that the arson posed health risks due to the release of toxic gases from lithium-ion batteries. As investigations unfold, Waymo is seeking legal action against the perpetrators but has yet to disclose whether it will provide surveillance footage to assist law enforcement.
A group of protesters attacked five Waymo autonomous vehicles on Los Angeles Street early on Sunday evening, reports the Los Angeles Times. They slashed tires, broke windows, spray-painted anti-ICE messages, and set the cars on fire. At one point, 'the besieged Waymos began honking their horns in coordinated cacophony,' the LA Times wrote.
Waymo told TechCrunch the company was in touch with the LAPD and would pursue criminal prosecution of and damages from those who vandalized its robotaxis in LA over the weekend.
It's not clear why protesters attacked the Waymo vehicles. In the past, police have tapped robotaxi companies for footage to help solve crimes - in April, 404 Media reported that the LAPD published video footage obtained from a Waymo driverless car as part of an investigation into a separate hit-and-run incident.
The LAPD noted that setting fire to lithium-ion batteries releases toxic gases like hydrogen fluoride, posing a risk to bystanders.
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