San Mateo police detained two 15-year-old boys on Monday afternoon after Waymo operators remotely disabled a driverless vehicle to halt the passengers from drinking alcohol and firing a gel-pellet toy gun out of the windows.
Incident Details
The incident occurred around 2:10 p. m.
when Waymo monitoring staff noticed the teenagers inside the autonomous vehicle and alerted the San Mateo Police Department.
Officers conducted a high-risk traffic stop in a shopping center parking lot near El Camino Real and Highway 92.
They searched the vehicle and discovered alcohol alongside a painted toy gun that fired water-filled Orbeez beads.
The San Mateo County District Attorney's Office is currently reviewing the case for potential charges against the juveniles, who were ultimately released to their parents.
Waymo employees managed to keep the passengers inside the vehicle prior to the police arrival by using a remote communication ruse, informing the teens that the car was experiencing mechanical issues.
Police Response
San Mateo Police Department community relations officer Jeanine Luna provided the official account of the law enforcement response.
"Around 2:10 we got a call from a Waymo rep saying there were two people in their vehicle, and they saw them shooting out of the vehicle," Luna said.
The police department noted that the monitoring staff also detected signs of intoxication from the two teenage occupants.
"They also described the passengers as being intoxicated," Luna said.
The remote support team tracking the vehicle reported specific behavioral details regarding the weapon before police officers arrived at the scene.
"They [Waymo] reported that the passengers were raising and lowering the suspected firearm, and they saw there was a recoil," Luna said.
Company representatives provided a detailed physical description of the object to dispatchers during the active incident.
"They saw what they described as a firearm in the vehicle, described it black in color, and at some point believed that the passengers were firing," Luna said.
Upon receiving the coordinates, police officers established a safe perimeter around the vehicle at the designated shopping center location.
"We conducted a high risk traffic stop.
Waymo did disable the vehicle for us in a location that we were able to set up safely.
And at that point, we pulled them out of the vehicle, searched the vehicle, and then we found what we determined to be Orbeez," Luna said.
The search of the autonomous vehicle revealed the specific types of items the teenagers had brought into the passenger cabin.
"They found an Orbeez water gun, backpacks and an open container of alcohol," Luna said.
The law enforcement agency emphasized that modified toy weapons present a serious safety challenge for responding officers who must make split-second assessments.
"It's harmless until you feel threatened by it.
What we find is happening is people are taking baby guns, toy guns, water guns, and they're painting them black to resemble real firearms.
And that's the problem, because to an untrained eye, you're going to believe it's a real gun," Luna said.
The department reiterated the dangers associated with altering the appearance of retail toy guns to look like authentic firearms.
"BB guns, toy guns are getting painted over to look black, so to an untrained eye, you don't know if it's a real gun or not," Luna said.
Officer Luna further warned about the physical risks of firing these specific types of projectiles from a moving car.
"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," Luna said.
Despite the operational disruption, police officials noted the company acted appropriately by involving local law enforcement to evaluate the threat.
"They were right in calling us and letting us know," Luna said.
The police department corporate collaboration allowed officers to synchronize their arrival with the vehicle's automated stop.
"I'm not sure what led to them learning about what was going on in their vehicle, but once they had the information, they did contact us immediately, told us what they saw, told us where they were and actually disable the vehicle for us," Luna said.
The company utilized internal communication channels to ensure the occupants remained stationary during the police deployment.
"They did say they were able to disable the vehicle and used a ruse to tell the passengers, 'Oh the car is having trouble.'
So, we could set up and get into position," Luna said.
The police department later sustained its endorsement of the monitoring process through its community relations channels.
"They were right in calling us and letting us figure it out," Luna said.
The incident has drawn attention from technology ethics experts regarding the active surveillance practices used by autonomous ride-hailing services.
"I understand that it was the observation of the gun, but was it people outside the car who called Waymo … or was it something that set off the actual watching of the live video of the car?"
asked Irina Raicu, the internet ethics program director at Santa Clara University.
Local residents expressed support for the intervention due to the potential safety risks involved in the teenagers' behavior.
"I think that's dangerous," said San Mateo resident Gina Garces.
Garces noted that the company's real-time monitoring helped prevent further escalation on public roads.
"I like what the Waymo was doing and being protective," Garces said.
Waymo declined to provide individual comments regarding the specific event but referred to its active corporate safety guidelines.
The company's policy statements note that interior support teams may access live video feeds during urgent trip circumstances to maintain safety and comply with legal requirements from law enforcement.
