Teens detained in California after drinking alcohol, shooting toy guns in Waymo: police
Waymo pulls over, tells police about teens' illegal actions
Cameras inside a Waymo driverless taxi shows teenagers drinking alcohol and firing a gun, which police say later turned out to be a water gun.
San Mateo Police say they detained two riders in a driverless taxi, after a Waymo representative alerted the San Mateo Police Department Monday afternoon that the two passengers appeared on the internal camera to be inebriated and were firing what appeared to be a gun out of the Waymo car window.
An unusual call to police
What we know:
The unusual call prompted police to surround the Waymo vehicle, which pulled over at a shopping center parking lot along El Camino Real near 20th Avenue. Police said the Waymo operator told the passengers the vehicle was having issues and was disabled.
About a half dozen police officers ordered the two passengers out of the vehicle and searched the inside.
The passengers turned out to be two 15-year-old boys who are San Mateo residents, and were handed over to their parents.
"They [Waymo] reported that the passengers were raising and lowering the suspected firearm, and they saw there was a recoil," San Mateo Police Department spokesperson, Jeanine Luna, said. "They described it as a black firearm. They saw it going up and down, they saw it being passed back and forth, being hidden from passersby. And then there was the recoil."
"They found an Orbeez water gun, backpacks and an open container of alcohol," Luna said, noting that the gel-like Orbeez pellets can be dangerous when fired from a moving vehicle, or if they dry out and harden.
'We've seen lots of youngsters using BB guns, water guns, toy guns, and painting them black so they look like real firearms and that causes real danger to untrained eyes," Officer Luna said.
Waymo policies
Dig deeper:
A Waymo spokesperson said they did not wish to comment, but sent their policy statements which says interior cameras are used by support teams to assist with customer service and in some cases are monitored for safety.
"Occasionally, in more urgent circumstances, Support may access live video during a trip," the policy statement reads.
"We may share certain data with law enforcement as needed to comply with legal requirements, enforcement agreements and protect the safety of you and others,' it states.
San Mateo police say they have requested interior camera footage as evidence and plan to report any charges to the district attorney's office.
The Source: San Mateo Police Department, interview with San Mateo Police Department spokesperson Jeanine Luna and Waymo policy statements