One of the women seen in a video harassing and attacking an Uber driver was arrested, the San Francisco Police Department announced on Thursday. Another suspect said he will surrender.
The Las Vegas Police Department arrested Malaysia King, 24, on Thursday in connection with Sunday’s incident in San Francisco’s Portola neighborhood, according to a statement. King faces several charges, including assault with a caustic chemical, assault and battery, conspiracy and violation of the health and safety code, police said.
Another suspect, 24-year-old Arna Kimiai, remains at large, but her lawyer told the San Francisco police that she will surrender to the nearest police.
“The behavior captured on video in this incident showed an unrelenting disregard for the safety and well-being of an essential service worker in the midst of a deadly pandemic,” said Lt. Tracy McCray, who heads the São Paulo Police Department’s Robbery Detail Francisco, in a statement, “We take this conduct very seriously in San Francisco and are committed to ensuring that justice is done in this case.”
Although the arrest was made, the department said the incident was still under investigation.
Video footage captured by a security camera and shared by KPIX-TV shows Kimiai and King reportedly attacking, harassing and coughing in Subhakar Khadka, a 32-year-old Uber driver. A third unidentified woman was also in the car as a passenger.
The women reportedly burst into anger when Khadka refused a ride because they did not wear a mask.
Khadka told KPIX-TV that he was attacked for being an immigrant from South Asia.
“I never said anything bad to them; I never cursed. I was not raised that way. I don’t hit people; I wasn’t raised that way, so they didn’t get out of my car, ”said Khadka.
The San Francisco Police Department said in a statement that the driver picked up passengers on Avenida San Bruno and Rua Felton, in the Portola neighborhood, at 12:45 pm on March 7.
One of the passengers was not wearing a mask and the driver stopped and ended the trip a few minutes later on the avenues San Bruno and Silver, police said.
“An altercation ensued and one of the passengers caught up with the driver in the rear seat area and stole the driver’s cell phone,” said police. “The victim grabbed it and finally regained possession of his phone.”
When the three women got out of the car, one of them reached an open window and sprayed what is believed to be pepper spray in the car and towards the driver, according to police.
Uber issued a statement after SFPD announced King’s arrest, thanking the Police Department for its quick action.
“Uber does not tolerate racism or hatred in any way, against any community,” said Uber. “When a community is being attacked, we are all attacked. We are shocked and saddened by the recent increase in anti-Asian hatred, especially when it affects a driver or passenger. In this case, we have banned all three pilots and we have contacted the Mr. Khadka to offer our support. ”
Uber banned the driver who requested the trip. “When we discover the identities of the other drivers, we can control their accounts as well,” said Uber in a statement.
Uber has a “no mask, no ride” policy and zero tolerance for physical violence, according to community guidelines.
Drivers can cancel trips without penalty for “without a mask” or if they don’t feel safe, according to the company’s driver’s safety tips.
Lyft announced on Wednesday that the company has also permanently removed the pilot from its platform.
“Although this incident does not involve the Lyft platform, the driver’s unacceptable treatment in this video forced us to permanently remove the pilot from the Lyft community,” wrote Lyft in Twitter. “Driving in a pandemic is not easy. Wear a mask, respect each other and be a good person.”
A GoFundMe was launched for Khadka, raising more than $ 63,000 on Thursday night.
The fundraiser was organized by Cyan Banister, one of the first investors in Uber who was shocked by the amount of money Uber gave the driver after the incident.
“Uber then failed to take care of this Uber driver to help him with lost wages and cleaning by having pepper spray sprayed on the fabric of his car,” said a statement on the fundraising page. “Instead, they started out offering only $ 20 compensation for having pepper spray covering their inner fabric. They then increased it to $ 120 compensation, but that doesn’t come close to the expenses needed to have a professional car detailing to try. remove the strong chemicals from the pepper spray and also the wages lost from not being able to work. “