Waymo pulls over, calls cops on juvenile riders who had 'ghost gun"

Post by LorenPechtel » Sat, Sep 12, 2026, 8:31 PM UTC

AngryData wrote: post #132

willsmith72 wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> What if Waymo thought the guns were real, called the cops, and the cops screwed up and shot one of the kids? See this is only an issue because that is a plausible situation. The actual problem is on the police/cultural side, not the waymo side. No one should even have to think about this when calling the cops. And I can't think of 1 other western society where they do

This is America though. The mere presense of a gun shouldn't involve calling the cops unless there is a bigger reason to expect something nefarious. US cops being thugs and aggressive is a known fact so I find it hard to say Waymo isn't part of the problem, they have the best view of the situation after all and are initiating the call/report of armed criminals.

Post by [deleted] » Sat, Sep 12, 2026, 8:42 PM UTC

analog31 wrote: post #35

kelnos wrote: post #3

I'm really torn on this. This particular situation, at face value at least, sounds like a good outcome. Kids had a gun, someone noticed, called police, situation handled without escalation or violence or something tragic happening. But this doesn't generalize. Another incident described in the article was when some kids were drinking in the car and shooting toy guns. What if they hadn't been drinking? What if they we…

>>> What if Waymo thought the guns were real, called the cops, and the cops screwed up and shot one of the kids? These sorts of escalations aren't imaginary; they happen, and they end in tragedy. I take this seriously, but I think this a problem with the cops. Even regular people hesitate to report problems if they think the police might overreact.

Post by newhotelowner » Sat, Sep 12, 2026, 8:45 PM UTC

handwarmers wrote: post #9

Flock is bad, but fleets of cars strapped to the teeth with cameras and sensors are suddenly ok even when they call the police on you? Why? Because of the makers of the technology that powers the cars say they are safer (via datasets that we have no way to validate)?

Post by gosub100 » Sat, Sep 12, 2026, 8:51 PM UTC

a4isms wrote: post #165

monster_truck wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We used to do this and more with nerf guns, laser tag, and then paintball guns. You're not going to believe this but we even used to be able to ride our bikes 30 miles away from home without our parents being arrested. We played with fire in the park too. One time we even found porn there dude The 90s were lit Nah you're right tho let's imagine the worst case scenario. What if that person in the waymo had a nuclear b…

Don't talk to me about the 90s if you weren't soaking a tennis ball in lighter fluid and firing the flaming missile out of a "potato gun" made out of beer cans... in the 70s. Also something about all the kids trying to imitate Evil Knievel and jumping their bikes off ramps made out of planks and milk crates... Without protective gear of any kind. Everyone who got out of that decade alive and with at most minimal brai…

Post by pc86 » Sat, Sep 12, 2026, 8:54 PM UTC

mingus88 wrote: post #102

kstrauser wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And the sign along the highway says my speed might be monitored by airplane, but I don’t want to live where that means a surveillance drone is flying along side me at all times. Consenting to let a taxi record me in case it comes up later that I did something bad and they want to have footage of it is one thing. But now we know Waymo is a little Flock tattletale, and people generally aren’t ok with their robocab proa…

I’m anti surveillance but I don’t get this take. Every uber driver I’ve been ive been in has an inside dashcam to protect themselves and their property. I would do the same thing if I were them. Waymo has every right to monitor their property and if someone does something illegal in their car why would they not report? An Uber driver would do the same, as would I. Otherwise you are an accomplice. This comparison to F…