An attack on a San Francisco Uber driver over the weekend by a passenger who allegedly refused to wear a face mask sparked outrage after video of the incident appeared Tuesday.
The incident took place in the city on Sunday after the driver, Subhakar Khadka, picked up three women. In a 43-second video clip featuring Khadka and mailed on Twitter through local newspapers, an unmasked woman is seen coughing in Khadka’s face in the back of the car and shouting at him. Seconds later, the woman snatches Khadka’s cellphone from his hand and pulls his mask out of his face. She and another passenger continue to shout at the driver and threaten to hit him. Khadka claims that he then got out of the car before being sprayed with pepper spray by one of the passengers.
UBER RIDERS COUGH ON, ASSAULT, PEPPER SPRAY MANAGER
Driver Subhakar Khadka, who is South Asian, says he believes he was targeted because of his race. He picked up 3 women in Bayview in San Bruno Avenue yesterday afternoon. https://t.co/Tzr7kTfyKQ pic.twitter.com/f8PiHDZ9CZ– Betty Yu (@BettyKPIX) March 9, 2021
“You are animals to treat other people like that,” Khadka told local news agency KPIX.
Khadka says he was assaulted after trying to kick the group out of his car for refusing to follow Uber’s masking policy, which requires passengers to cover a face while driving. Khadka, who told KPIX that he is originally from Nepal and has lived in the US for eight years, also said he believes he was attacked because of his race and accent.
‘If I were still a complexion, I would not have received the treatment from them. The moment I open my mouth to speak, they realize I’m one of them, so it’s easy for them to intimidate me, ‘he said in an interview at the outlet.
The incident comes as the San Francisco Bay Area reckoned with attacks on elderly Asian residents, and because violence against Asian Americans nationwide increased during the pandemic.
In a video posted on Instagram, the unmasked woman admitted that she was wrong because she coughed at Khadka, but said she was afraid for her and her fellow passengers’ safety because Khadka allegedly took them to an unfamiliar environment. tried to kick out and did not want to wait. until a new cavalry arrived.
Both Uber and Lift tweeted that the rider was permanently removed from their platforms.
Although the Lyft platform was not involved in this incident, the driver’s unacceptable treatment in this video forced us to permanently remove the rider from the Lyft community. Driving in a pandemic is not easy. Please wear a mask, respect each other and be a good person.
– Lift (@lyft) March 9, 2021
The incident, along with Uber’s compensation for Khadka – the company allegedly offered him only $ 20 to cover the cleaning fee, and later increased it to $ 120 – highlights the dire nature of the gig economy and the limited protection that drivers offer, even if the pandemic causes their work more dangerous.
Uber’s early investor Cyan Banister started a Gofundme fundraiser for Khadka on Tuesday so he could remove the pepper spray residue from his car and compensate for the lost wages.