In San Francisco, one woman has been apprehended and another plans to turn herself in after being caught on video coughing on their Uber driver.
San Francisco Police said that Malaysia King was arrested on an assault charge, while a lawyer for Arna Kimiai has said she plans to turn herself in.
The San Francisco Uber driver recorded video of the two and a third woman in the backseat of his car after he picked them up for a ride. In the video, the women can be seen coughing on the driver, shouting, and swearing at him.
The mask worn by the Uber driver, Shubhakar Khadka was ripped off and his phone was grabbed by Kimiai.
UBER RIDERS COUGH ON, ASSAULT, PEPPER SPRAY DRIVER
Driver Subhakar Khadka, who is South Asian, says he believes he was targeted because of his race. He picked up 3 women in the Bayview yesterday afternoon on San Bruno Avenue. https://t.co/Tzr7kTfyKQ pic.twitter.com/f8PiHDZ9CZ— Betty Yu (@BettyKPIX) March 9, 2021
Khadka stated that one of the women was not wearing a mask, and so he asked her to put it on and stopped into a gas station so they could buy one. He also alleged that one of the women sprayed him with pepper spray.
King and Kimiai are both 24. The third woman is not wanted by police and has not been named.
“The behavior captured on video in this incident showed a callous disregard for the safety and wellbeing of an essential service worker in the midst of a deadly pandemic,” Lt. Tracy McCray at the San Francisco Police Department said. “We take this conduct very seriously in San Francisco, and we’re committed to ensuring that justice is done.”
Uber and Lyft both decided to ban a rider involved in the incident from accessing their apps.