San Francisco police investigating Uber passengers who allegedly assaulted driver over mask policy

The San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) is investigating an incident in which three women allegedly assaulted an Uber driver over the company’s mask policy.

The Department said in a Twitter thread that the SFPD Robbery Unit was investigating the incident.

(4/4) The SFPD Robbery Unit is investigating the incident.

Anyone with information is asked to call the SFPD Tip Line at 1-415-575-4444 or Text a Tip to TIP411 and begin the text message with SFPD.

We will work to release pertinent updates as they become available.

— San Francisco Police (@SFPD) March 10, 2021

In viral video of the Sunday incident shared by local reporters, driver Subhakar Khadka, 32, requests one of the female passengers wear a mask and drives to a gas station so that she could purchase one.

One of the women then rips off her mask and yells “f— masks” at Khadka and is seen coughing on him. She also reaches toward him, removes a mask from his face and then snatches his phone away from him, officials said.

When the ride was over and the women exited the car, one woman aims pepper spray into the car toward him, authorities added.

“The suspects exited the car and the third passenger reached into an open window and sprayed what is believed to be pepper spray into the vehicle and towards the driver,” SFDP said on Twitter. “The suspects fled the scene.”

“The SFPD Robbery Unit is investigating the incident,” the police department said. “We will work to release pertinent updates as they become available.”

A spokesperson for Uber told The Hill in a statement that the passenger who booked the ride no longer has access to the ride-sharing service.

“The behavior seen in the video is appalling,” the spokesperson said. “The rider no longer has access to Uber.”

The passenger was also banned from Lyft.

“Although this incident did not involve the Lyft platform, the unacceptable treatment of the driver in this video compelled us to permanently remove the rider from the Lyft community,” a Lyft spokesperson told The Hill in a statement.

Uber abides by a “no mask, no ride policy” and allows drivers to cancel trips for “no masks” without penalty.