--- title: "Two Delivery Bots Blunder Into the Middle of a Police Incident, Have Awkward Standoff" description: "Footage shows to delivery robots awkwardly coming face to face right next to an incident police were responding to." date: "2026-04-26" modified: "2026-04-26" authors: - name: "Frank Landymore" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore" url: "https://futurism.com/future-society/delivery-bots-police-incident" categories: - "Future Society" --- # Two Delivery Bots Blunder Into the Middle of a Police Incident, Have Awkward Standoff ![A group of firefighters and police officers are gathered on a sidewalk near a Pizza Hut sign. Two small delivery robots with wheels and flags are on the sidewalk nearby. The scene appears to be in an urban area with traffic lights and cars in the background.]() *Film the Police LA* Delivery robots continue to be a nuisance wherever they roam. As a gaggle of around a half dozen emergency responders attended to a man who seemed to be having some sort of mental health crisis, two of the sidewalk-crawling machinescame face to face with each other, unsure whether to proceed. "There's a standoff. Look at this," said a man who [filmed a video of the incident](), which took place near the Cherokee Plaza in Hollywood. (Warning: it's an uncomfortable listen.) The robots, which appear to be operated by Serve Robotics, wander uncomfortably close to the cluster of cops, firemen, and paramedics, and instead of driving by — or taking an alternate route in the first place — stop in place like awkward rubberneckers. Half a minute passes before one of the robots decides to back out, but the other remains less than a foot away from the action. "If I went that close, I'm getting arrested," the man remarked. "If I went right there where that robot is, I am one hundred percent getting arrested." "They can go over there, and I can't!" The robot doesn't drive off until the man under distress is wheeled away in a stretcher, some three minutes later. It's unclear why the bot didn't try to remove itself from the scene. https://twitter.com/FilmThePoliceLA/status/2047462897786511724 The incident the latest example of the machines running into trouble as they navigate city sidewalks. Last month, two delivery robots operated by different companies [smashed into glass bus shelters within days of each other]() in the same city. Others have [impeded disabled pedestrians](), driven [into the path of oncoming trains](), and [gotten into traffic accidents](). One Chicago ward [banned the bots from operating in the area]() after residents overwhelmingly voted to keep them out. This also isn't the first bot encounter our cameraman, who runs the X account "Film the Police LA" has had. Last month, he went viral after [uploading a video]() of himself of berating a delivery bot that asked him to push a crosswalk button, providing a source of catharsis for many who have grown weary of the machines' intrusion into pedestrian spaces. **More on robots:** [*Chinese Humanoid Robot Runs Half Marathon, Beats Fastest Human Time in History*]() ## Author At Futurism, my work has often centered on bringing a sense of clarity and insight to complex topics ranging from the regulation of emerging technologies to the esoteric ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, while striving not to lose the poetic sense of awe inspired by often-obscure fields like astrophysics and quantum computing. I broke the story of CNET using AI to produce articles that turned out to be riddled with factual errors and plagiarism — a dam-breaking inflection point, as I've reported, that's inspired copycats and endless discourse while beguiling stakeholders ranging from tech giants to purveyors of spam around the web. My work at Futurism has been cited by publications including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Vice, Gizmodo, Engadget, the Verge, and Vanity Fair. I grew up in locales ranging from India to China, and now live in the exotic suburbs of Virginia. In my free time, I'm an avid reader of weird sci-fi literature, an aficionado of East Asian cinema, and, regrettably, a relapsed gamer. Allegedly, I’m working on a debut novel, currently untitled. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()