A video from a bystander posted on social media appears to show a self-driving car blocking San Francisco police at the scene of a shooting Friday.
In the footage, a Cruise self-driving taxi is seen entering and stopping along the street in the city's Mission District where nine people had been shot and wounded, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. A San Francisco police officer at the scene can be heard saying the driverless car is obstructing first responders from reaching victims.
"Blocking emergency medical and fire. I've got to get it out of here now," the officer shouted.
After releasing a social media statement expressing sympathy for the shooting victims, Cruise disputed that the car was blocking police and firefighters. The company said
“Our car initially stopped as it was approaching an active emergency scene, then proceeded to perform a U-turn and pull over,” the statement said. "Throughout this time, all vehicles, including emergency response vehicles, were able to proceed around our car."
A Cruise spokesperson later told the Chronicle that its self-driving taxis are monitored remotely by staffers, and they are able to respond to emergencies, such as Friday's incident. A speaker can be used by an operator to talk with first responders and passengers in these.
According to the spokesperson, the officer who is heard shouting in the video seemed to be too far away from the vehicle and its speaker for staffers to hear. But an employee still went to the scene within roughly a half hour to remove the vehicle after police had corralled it with crime scene tape.
The San Francisco Police Department would not comment on the incident or confirm the car was at the scene.
