Man Gets Arrested for Punching a 300-Pound Security Robot

Remember when someone made a hitchhiker robot and sent him on a voyage across the country all by himself? Yeah, that particular robot was decapitated well before he could reach his final destination, and it looks like Knightscope’s egg-shaped security robots are getting abused as well, as a man recently punched one of them to the ground. To clarify, these particular robots were designed to prevent crimes near Terra Bella and Linda Vista Avenue in Mountain View, but not by tackling criminals or fighting them one on one. They basically act like mobile alarm systems, and 41-year-old Jason Sylvain definitely didn’t enjoy seeing the robot spinning and whistling, so he decided to teach it a lesson.

In turn, he was arrested and now faces prowling and intoxication charges because the “victim” was quick to alert nearby authorities of his behavior. Even though Jason tried to flee the scene, he was apprehended quickly, and the good news is that the K5 robot only suffered some minor scratches and is now back on duty. The K5 model was in the spotlight last year for knocking down a 16-month-old boy and running over his foot, but its creators have modified its programming since then and everything seems to be in order.

Meet K-5 —the droid taken down by an alleged drunk man last week. Don't worry, he's back on patrol 🙂 details @abc7newsbayarea at 11 pic.twitter.com/0qthDHONQq

— Tiffany Wilson (@TWilsonTV) April 25, 2017