California pair accused of hitting, pouring beer on robots analyzing sidewalks

Authorities on California's Central Coast arrested two people Sunday suspected of vandalizing robots performing assessments on sidewalks last week.

According to the Hollister Police Department, officers on Thursday responded to reports of vandalism involving the robots on the 800 block of 4th Street and near West and 5th Streets. The incidents were reported by Daxbot, the company that deployed the robots as part of a city project.

During the first incident, police said surveillance footage showed a man riding a bicycle who stopped and approached the robot, before knocking the robot to its side before leaving the area.

A second incident involved another suspect approaching a robot near 4th and Line streets. The suspect appeared to strike the robot before approaching a second robot that recorded the interaction.

Police said the suspect struck the second robot and poured a liquid, believed to be beer, before leaving the area.

In a statement to CBS News Bay Area on Tuesday, police chief Carlos Reynoso confirmed two people were arrested following unrelated incidents.

On Sunday morning, 36-year-old Jesus Calderon was arrested at Dunne Park on suspicion of resisting arrest. Later that day, officers arrested 48-year-old Ryan Deanda at a Safeway store on suspicion of possessing a dagger.

Police later identified the two men as suspects in the vandalism cases.

According to the city, the robots were deployed on May 27 to "understand accessibility conditions across our pedestrian networks" and to plan future improvements. City officials stressed that the robots are completely safe, moving at walking speed and do not collect personal data or replace city jobs.

The company said the robots can measure six to seven miles of sidewalk per day, compared to two to three miles for a two-person crew.

"If you see one, feel free to take a selfie with it, but please give it space to work just like you would for City crews or field staff," the city said on its Facebook page.

Officials said the sidewalk assessment project will take several weeks to several months to complete.