A San Francisco business owner who says he was once one of Waymo’s strongest supporters is now calling for changes to the company’s emergency response policies after alleging he was trapped inside one of its autonomous vehicles while it was being vandalized. Sherman Watson says he also wants access to surveillance footage from the vehicle, arguing it could help him process and document what happened during the incident. Watson, who frequently posted videos of his driverless rides on social media, said he had long been an advocate for the technology. “One thing about Waymo is there’s no driver, which in certain cases is great because a lot of people don’t like to talk to drivers, or they feel uncomfortable,” Watson said. According to Watson, that perspective changed during an early Saturday morning ride in May after he spent the evening with friends in San Francisco’s Marina District. Watson alleges the Waymo vehicle stopped at the intersection of Pierce and Lombard Street, where he saw two young men approach the robocar and jerked its front bumper. “The smashing began right away. And they were doing it in tandem. So, one would come up, the other would go grab something. They put this like weird foam thing on top of the hood and then they climbed up,” he said. They cracked the windshield… Just bashing it, like objects kicking it, jumping on it. Watson. “And at that point I froze, you know, I just panicked, I froze so I called 911 and Waymo came on,” Watson said. Watson alleges that while he was inside the vehicle, someone from Waymo spoke to him through the car’s overhead communication system. “The only thing they said is ‘we realized there’s a problem with the vehicle.’ I said, ‘Yes, someone’s trying to kill me.'” Watson said he repeatedly asked the company to get him out there. Their response was no the car is obstructed and I said I’m literally looking in front of me on the street. There’s nothing blocking me. Please get me out of here.Watson. Watson further alleges he continued asking to leave the scene while the vehicle was under attack. Videos posted online have shown other incidents in which Waymo vehicles have been vandalized, spray-painted or set on fire. Watson said San Francisco police arrived about 35 minutes after he called 911 and he filed a report. He said the people who allegedly attacked the vehicle had already left. The San Francisco Police Department’s report identifies Waymo as the victim and Watson as a witness. According to the report, the incident was classified as malicious mischief. The report documents Watson’s account that two suspects threw items at the vehicle, jumped on it and broke a window. It also notes damage to the windshield and states the vehicle was towed from the scene by Waymo staff. According to Waymo’s website, its vehicles are equipped with 29 exterior cameras that provide 360-degree visibility, as well as interior cameras intended to help in emergencies and promote safety. Watson said he requested surveillance footage from both Waymo and the San Francisco Police Department but has not received it. “Waymo’s like here’s five free rides and we’re sorry we missed the mark,” Watson said.”Their inaction in that moment when I was in that car. No policy changes, inaction, and that’s why I’m here.” The San Francisco Police Department said it generally does not release video footage from incidents and is not the custodian of the recording. Waymo has said it needs legal justification to access the footage. However, according to the narrative in the police report, an officer requested the footage the night of the incident. Waymo states that, statistically, its autonomous vehicles are safer than vehicles operated by human drivers. But Watson argues that having a human driver present could have changed the outcome. “When you’re in an Uber, at least you have an ally. You may not like that driver, you may not like the car, but at least that person’s an ally. And that person would have gotten me out of that intersection,” he said. Watson is now urging Waymo to revise its emergency response procedures protocol to keep passengers safe. “I don’t remember them using anything internally, like a horn or flashing lights”, Watson said. “Pull your engineers in, suspend service, evening service for a week, you know? Get policy in place and then protect your customers.” Waymo did not provide further comment regarding Watson’s specific allegations that it failed to do more to protect him during the incident. It remains unclear whether San Francisco police ever obtained the vehicle’s surveillance footage. Watson said he has also contacted local and state officials seeking assistance in obtaining the recording but, more than two months after the incident, says he still has not been allowed to view it. To contact the reporter email, [email protected]. ...read more read less