Students arrested, accused of throwing UT robot, causing over $5,000 in damage
Two University of Tennessee students were arrested after purposefully damaging a food delivery service robot, according to UTPD officials.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - Two University of Tennessee students were arrested and accused of damaging a food delivery service robot, according to officials with the University of Tennessee Police Department. It happened on Friday, April 29 near Fraternity Park Drive.
Patrick Callahan,19, and Brock Garland, 20, went outside to retrieve a food delivery from the robot. After opening the robot and retrieving the food, both students attempted to shove the antenna of the robot inside the top compartment. Callahan then picked up the robot and slammed it into the ground. This all being caught on camera on the student’s phone, according to a police report obtained by WVLT News.
WVLT News spoke with UT students, who said they enjoyed having the robots on campus.
“When I saw it I thought it was kinda silly because that was a nice thing for UT to put on campus, cause they can be convenient for some people,” Kendall Mitchell said. “So that was a little crazy that they were destroying them.”
Data logs from UT OIT were able to confirm Callahan and Garland were in the area at the time of day the vandalism happened. The cellphone video was also able to confirm their identities by members of the Starship Technology Crew.
The replacement cost for the robot is $5,500. They both face vandalism charges.
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