The Brief

A San Francisco supervisor is holding a ‘Justice for KitKat’ rally for the bodega cat killed in the Mission by a Waymo last week.

Sup. Jackie Fielder is urging Gov. Newsom and the CA legislature to let the people decide on how autonomous vehicles operate in the community.

The rally is set for noon at Randa’s Market at 3131 16th Street.

SAN FRANCISCO – When a beloved San Francisco Mission District bodega cat was run over and killed by a Waymo autonomous vehicle last week, the community outpouring of grief manifested in a sidewalk memorial.

What we know

Now District 9 Supervisor Jackie Fielder, who represents the Mission District, is calling for a ‘Justice for KitKat’ rally, where she wants Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state legislature to give the people the right to vote on how autonomous vehicles, such as Waymo, operate in the community.

“If I were the Waymo PR team, I would be hoping that this whole KitKat thing just dies and that’s not happening,” Fielder said in a video posted to social media on Monday. “Waymo thinks that they can just sweep this under the rug and we will all forget, but here in Mission, we will never forget our sweet KitKat. We will always put community before tech oligarchs and California should do the same.”

The backstory

KitKat, the gray tabby, was the store mascot and pet of the owner of Randa’s Market on 16th Street. The owner told KTVU last week that on Monday, Oct. 27, the cat was struck and killed by a Waymo outside his store. The cat was taken to a veterinarian but did not make it.

Waymo responded to our request for comment and said they reviewed the incident and said the cat darted under one of its vehicles as the car stopped to pick up passengers. Waymo added that they would be making a donation to a local animal rights organization in the cat’s honor, but did not disclose that amount.

Fielder said reporting from other outlets does not align with how Waymo – a Mountain View-based company – characterized the events of KitKat’s death, and she retold the graphic account of what witnesses told online news outlet Mission Local.

Fielder said she’s been following this situation and referenced what Waymo CEO, Tekedra Mawakana, said at this year’s TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 event, eerily right around the time of KitKat’s death. She essentially said society would accept a death caused by a robotaxi if, in the end, this technology offered greater safety.

“AVs collect endless amounts of data on us and erode ridership from struggling public transportation, contribute to traffic congestion and also drive harmful mining practices in the global south.

Waymo was given the green light to operate on San Francisco’s Market Street, except for between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. this past August in what appeared to be a decision by San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency with no public input. The move was met with some protests and calls for Lurie to reverse that decision.

What’s next

The rally will be held at noon at Randa’s Market on 3131 16th Street, where KitKat was the store mascot and also the site of where the cat was run over by the Waymo.

Fielder said she will be introducing a resolution calling on Gov. Newsom and the state legislature to give voters the say on their local ballots at the county level to have input over how autonomous vehicles operate in the city.

Fielder urged this to be more than just a San Francisco resolution and would like more public input on AVs in general.