By MES Dispatch Staff
The Briefing
- An autonomous DoorDash delivery robot named Dot wandered into an active Chandler Police Department SWAT operation near Ray Road and Hamilton Street while making a scheduled food delivery.
- Officers directed the robot to turn around, but it did not respond to commands and continued moving toward the restricted police perimeter.
- SWAT personnel deployed a flash-bang device as part of their operation while managing the robot’s presence in the area.
- A DoorDash technician responded to the scene and removed the robot in a box truck; no injuries were reported.
- Police continued their investigation into a possible weapons-related incident at the location.
CHANDLER, ARIZ. — An autonomous food delivery robot entered an active Chandler Police Department SWAT operation Friday, prompting officers to direct it away from the operational perimeter as they investigated a possible weapons-related incident in the East Valley.
Police were conducting the SWAT operation near Ray Road and Hamilton Street when the DoorDash robot, identified as Dot, approached the area while executing a scheduled delivery route. Officers observed the autonomous unit moving toward their perimeter and issued verbal commands for it to reverse direction.
The robot did not respond to the officers’ commands and continued advancing toward the restricted area. Video footage captured SWAT personnel deploying a flash-bang device at a nearby residence as part of their operation while the delivery unit remained in the vicinity of police activity.
A DoorDash technician arrived at the scene and removed the robot from the area using a box truck. No injuries involving the autonomous delivery device were reported, and police maintained control of the scene throughout the incident.
Investigators continued examining the possible weapons-related incident that had prompted the SWAT deployment. Police did not release additional details about the nature of the investigation or whether the situation was resolved without further incident.