SCOTTSDALE, AZ – A racist, homophobic attack was captured on camera during a Valley Lyft ride.
The incident took place early Saturday morning in North Scottsdale. Two young men get into the car of Sammer Tomar, an immigrant from Jordan who has been a full-time driver for five years.
One of the passengers quickly opens a beer in the back seat.
Tomar says it broke the rules, so he canceled the trip and asked the men to jump out.
They apologized and offered to throw out the alcohol, but Tomar told them it was too late.
“I just want to cancel the ride because I’ve dealing with people who have no respect,” said Tomar, caught on his dashcam.
“I want to respect you completely,” replied one passenger.
“If you want to respect me, you would not have opened the bottle in my car. I canceled the ride.”
“Dude … We’re just trying to get home, brother,” the other rear rider added.
Things increased rapidly when Tomar asked them to get out of his vehicle.
One passenger hit the hat off his head, scolded him, used homophobia and made several racist comments.
“Go back to your (explicit) dumb country,” the man said. “Where did you get this (explicit) car? Did you steal it?”
“We see you on YouTube. Trust me,” Tomar replied.
“We’ll see your family members go on board through the government,” the passenger answered from outside the car.
Tomar told ABC15 he was so upset that he was shaking. He went straight home and also went to work the next day.
“I have been in this country for 20 years. I love this country. I am happy to be here,” Tomar said. “We are treated like second-class workers. We do not get the respect.”
He later reported the incident to Lyft and Scottsdale police.
Lyft sent ABC15 the following statement:
“Safety is fundamental to Lyft, and the behavior shown is unacceptable. We have permanently removed the rider from the Lyft community, issued the driver to provide support and be ready to assist law enforcement with any investigation.”
Scottsdale police responded:
“This is an ongoing investigation and so far no arrests have been made and we will comment on whether or not a criminal offense took place until the investigation is completed. We categorize certain incidents as hate crimes based on specific criteria. “
This is not the first time a rider driver has been the victim of racism.
In February, an African American ASU student is named the n-word by a CEO of Valley.
“I can not believe it happened to me. I watch these videos online all the time,” Tomar said.
Tomar tells ABC15 that he does not want the passenger to lose his job, but he would like to apologize and hope that the man learns.
“He has to pay a price for it. I’m not talking price in terms of money. I’m talking about realizing what he did wrong and starting to respect immigrants,” Tomar said.