Uber acknowledges getting complaints about shooting suspect

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

Uber acknowledges getting complaints about shooting suspect
Feb. 22, 2016 7:11 PM ET
By JEFF KAROUB, Associated Press

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) — The Uber ride-hailing service acknowledged Monday that it received complaints about erratic driving by the suspect in the random shootings that killed six people in Kalamazoo, and a prosecutor said the man admitted carrying out the attacks.

As authorities pieced together Jason Dalton's actions, the prosecutor said he picked up Uber fares after the first shooting and probably got more riders after the subsequent shootings.

Dalton, the 45-year-old former insurance adjuster, appeared briefly in court by video link and was charged with six counts of murder. A judge denied him bail. During a talk with investigators, Dalton waived his right against self-incrimination and confessed his role in the Saturday night shootings, Kalamazoo County Prosecutor Jeff Getting said.

Dalton admitted "that he took people's lives," Kalamazoo police Det. Cory Ghiringhelli told the court. The murder charges carry a mandatory life sentence. Michigan does not have the death penalty.


Read more: http://hosted2.ap.org/WIMIL/a5050f4ad4f44dafab85bb41a15281cf/Article_2016-02-22-US--Kalamazoo%20Shootings/id-59ec616f24da4ac7b18ece5441e1faa6

[LonePirate]

1. Given the content of the complaint (reckless driving), shouldn't they have removed him temporarily?

The complaint may not have been about violence; but reckless driving is still a pretty serious complaint given the nature of the business. I don't hold Uber responsible for the murders but they should not have allowed him to continue picking up fares after that complaint.

[PSPS]

2. Why not hold Uber responsible?

Their business model revolves around hiring virtually anyone to make their money for them, and they especially like to finance the car that Uber can provide the driver if they have no car so they can "work off" the usurious loan. It's a combination of slavery and the "company store" scam -- a win-win in today's 'murika!!11!!

[Kelvin Mace]

3. I am guessin some people will

[chapdrum]

4. So predictable

Of course they knew; they just didn't give a s*it, almost entirely because they don't have to.

The free market rewards society in so many special ways.

[TomCADem]

5. Media Matters - No Mention Of Issue on Sunday News Shows

I guess if the shooter were Muslim, then it would be a legitimate policy issue, but you can't seriously expect Trump to demand that we ban uber or profile white males. Maybe Breitbart's website will release a rumor that the driver studied Islam, which will give Fox News the green light to cover the issue.

http://mediamatters.org/blog/2016/02/22/hours-after-michigan-gun-rampage-the-sunday-sho/208724

But yesterday, the Sunday morning talk shows all passed on the Kalamazoo story and the topic of gun violence in America. On ABC's This Week, CBS's Face The Nation, CNN's State of the Union, Fox News Sunday, and NBC's Meet The Press, not a single reference was made to the Michigan shooting spree, according to Nexis.

That's five hours of programming from shows that ostensibly address the week's most pressing issues in America, and yet no discussion of the country's latest killing spree, or what public officials should do to address the problem of gun violence.

If the alleged Kalamazoo shooter had been a Muslim, would the Sunday shows have all ignored the killings?

Note that the programs yesterday were flooded with a combined 19 interviews with presidential candidates, who are precisely the type of people who should be asked about gun violence and what their plans are, if any, to deal with this public health crisis.

[Fuddnik]

6. Maybe they got complaints, but there is no way they could address them.

The only way to communicate with Uber is through e-mail, and it can take days to get a response. I was one of Ubers first drivers in Tampa Bay, and all throughout the hiring process and working for them for 3 months, I never had direct contact with a human being.

They would make app and customer contact changes and not tell anyone about them, or how to work them for weeks.

That's one fucked up company.