The Los Angeles Police Department obtained video footage from a Waymo driverless car as part of its investigation into a hit-and-run in which a separate, human-driven car hit a pedestrian.
The LAPD published the footage, which has a note on it that reads “Waymo Confidential Commercial Information,” on its YouTube page to ask the public for help identifying the driver of the vehicle. The short clip shows what video footage that law enforcement requests from Waymo looks like.
The situation shows that police in Los Angeles are now looking at Waymo robotaxis as potential sources of surveillance footage to investigate crimes that the vehicles’ cameras and sensors may have witnessed. In 2023, Bloomberg reported that police in both San Francisco and Maricopa County, Arizona, had issued search warrants for Waymo footage. Police have also requested footage from Teslas, extremely pervasive Ring cameras, and Cruise autonomous vehicles.
Waymo is rapidly expanding in Los Angeles; anecdotally, I see many Waymos driving around town every day, and the company just announced that the autonomous vehicles have expanded the geographic region in which they would operate in the city and that it would soon begin testing them on Los Angeles freeways. The proliferation of Waymo cars also means the proliferation of roving surveillance cameras. LAPD has shown an interest in obtaining footage from autonomous vehicles that operate in the city; last year we reported on a case in which the LAPD obtained footage from an autonomous food delivery robot to investigate a crime.
A Waymo spokesperson told 404 Media that it does not proactively give footage to police.
“Waymo does not provide information or data to law enforcement without a valid legal request, usually in the form of a warrant, subpoena, or court order. These requests are often the result of eyewitnesses or other video footage that identifies a Waymo vehicle at the scene,” the spokesperson said. “We carefully review each request to make sure it satisfies applicable laws and is legally valid. We also analyze the requested data or information, to ensure it is tailored to the specific subject of the warrant. We will narrow the data provided if a request is overbroad, and in some cases, object to producing any information at all.”
Waymo’s website explains that it conducts training sessions for law enforcement and emergency responders, which is designed to teach them about Waymo and explains what they should do in case they are responding to a car crash or other emergency involving a Waymo. The page says it had “conducted in-person training for 18,000+ first responders at 75+ agencies.”
The Los Angeles Police Department did not respond to a request for comment.
