Sherman Watson, a San Francisco business owner and longtime Waymo rider, says his spring trip in a driverless taxi turned into a nightmare when the car got attacked and he could not get out. He recounts that the May incident at Pierce and Lombard started when two men walked up to the parked robotaxi, grabbed and yanked the bumper, then began throwing objects, jumping on the hood and smashing a window. Watson says he dialed 911 from inside the vehicle and eventually waited on the curb while the robocar stayed frozen in place.
Watson told investigators and reporters that when Waymo's remote support team finally came on over the car's speaker, "the only thing they said is 'we realized there's a problem with the vehicle.' I said, 'Yes, someone's trying to kill me,'" according to NBC Bay Area. He says he repeatedly begged the company to get him out while the attackers kept hammering the car, and that Waymo staff later towed the damaged vehicle away after police arrived.
Police Report and Missing Footage
According to the police report described in the same NBC Bay Area story, the San Francisco Police Department lists Waymo as the victim, identifies Watson as a witness and labels the case as malicious mischief. The department told reporters it generally does not release video footage and is not the custodian of the recording, while Waymo has said it needs legal justification before handing over any vehicle recordings. Watson says he has asked both Waymo and the police for the footage and that more than two months after the May attack, he still has not been allowed to see it.
Not an Isolated Problem
Watson's experience tracks with a series of run-ins between San Franciscans and driverless cars. Hoodline report on an SF rider locked in terror ride and coverage in outlets such as TechCrunch shows videos of robotaxis being surrounded, spray-painted and even torched in separate incidents. Those episodes have intensified calls for clearer rules on when and how a remote operator or local authorities should step in.
Riders Want Policy, Not Just Footage
Riders and safety advocates argue that recording everything is not enough; they want faster, clearer emergency rules that prioritize getting people out of harm's way. Waymo's vehicles carry heavy-duty sensor setups. For example, Jaguar-based models have been described as having roughly 29 exterior cameras, according to Wallpaper, along with lidar and radar. But capturing every angle of an attack does not automatically free a trapped passenger. Watson is pressing Waymo to overhaul its response playbook, from better remote intervention to possible evening pauses in service, and says a human driver in the seat would have felt like an ally instead of a bystander.
What's Next
Watson says he has gone to city and state officials to push for a review of the footage and for formal pressure on Waymo to tighten its emergency policies. City regulators and the company have faced similar demands after other high-profile run-ins. The case has become another test of how a driverless fleet fits into San Francisco street life and whether Waymo, police and regulators can close what riders describe as a gap in accountability. Waymo did not give a new comment to NBC on Watson's specific claims and continues to highlight its safety data as it expands service across the city.
