A Lyft driver in Missouri was taken on a wild ride when her passenger allegedly pulled a gun and forced her to drive to a restaurant where he’s accused of assaulting her.
Police in Madison County, Missouri say Anthony Milton ordered a Lyft, but when the driver took him to his stated destination the man refused to get out of the car. Instead, he pointed a gun at the driver and told her to take him to a Denny’s restaurant. After they arrived Milton allegedly refused to let the driver go, and instead forced her at gunpoint inside the restaurant.
He used the weapon to force the driver into the Denny’s restaurant so she would not be out of his sight, according to the affidavit. The victim managed to duck into the bathroom and hit a panic button on her phone, but Milton was close behind her, per the document. Milton then allegedly hit the victim in the head with the gun while the pair were alone in the bathroom. He allegedly left immediately after.
Many of the events in the Denny’s were caught on security cameras, which police used to find and identify the suspect.
Milton was not initially arrested for this crime, but for a different violent felony charge in Illinois, according to authorities. Police said Milton was a previously convicted felon and was not allowed to be in possession of a firearm.
While the law prohibited Milton from possessing a gun, it was Lyft’s policy that kept the driver from having a pistol to protect herself. Both Uber and Lyft prohibit drivers from having a gun on them, even if they can lawfully carry one. Riders are also supposed to be disarmed, but as this driver learned the hard way, there’s no way for Lyft to proactively enforce that rule.
The same is true when it comes to the driver disarmament policies that Uber and Lyft have put in place, but if the companies discover that one of their drivers carried a gun or even used it in self-defense, they’re prohibited from driving for the companies in the future. Some drivers may choose to ignore that edict, reasoning that another job is easier to find than another life, but the policies undoubtedly serve as a deterrent for some drivers who would otherwise be armed on the job.
Drivers should have the ability to decide for themselves whether to carry a gun when they’re behind the wheel. Even though rideshare drivers don’t typically carry large sums of cash, they’re still inviting targets for robbers and carjackers… including juveniles who are emboldened to commit violent crimes because they know there’ll be few consequences even if they’re caught.
That was the case for the teens who robbed Kevin Simmons in Milwaukee last year. Though the 59-year-old pastor, who drove for Uber on a part-time basis, was shot multiple times and left for dead, the 14-year-old who was arrested and charged ended up being sentenced to just five years… and originally only faced twelve months behind bars. Even the five-year sentence he ultimately received is probably going to be two years in jail and three years of probation, while Simmons will carry the scars of that night for the rest of his life.
These rideshare companies can’t guarantee the safety of the contractors who drive for them, but they still demand they be unarmed and defenseless when they’re on the clock. It’s a ridiculous and dangerous ask, and incidents like the recent carjacking in Missouri are just more evidence that the policy needs to disappear from the corporate handbooks.
Read the full article here
