As reported by NBC News, a gay couple alleges they suffered verbal and physical abuse from their Uber driver while in Manhattan at around 2 a.m. The couple, who married last month, were headed to a bar in the East Village, near where they live. A friend was in the car with them.
What spurred this alleged violence? According to the couple, a simple hug.
Taray Carey and his husband, Alex Majkowski, hugged in the backseat of their Uber during the ride.
“Are you fags?” Carey said the driver asked.
Carey asked the man to repeat himself, and alleges the driver repeated himself in kind, saying:
“Are you faggots?”
“He’s telling us in his country we would be beheaded and left for dead,” Carey told NBC.
Understandably, the riders attempted to exit the Uber. According to Carey, the couple’s friend exited first, while the car was stopped at a red light. When Carey tried to follow him out of the car, things got dangerous.
Carey says that he got tangled in his seat belt, and the driver continued driving, dragging him about a “quarter of a block” down the street. Carey posted pictures to Facebook of the aftermath, which includes injuries on his left knee and leg, as well as his hands.
His husband, who was still in the car, tells NBC he tried to get the driver to let them out. “I said, ‘Let me out, let me out, let me out!’ just over and over until he stopped,” he recalled.
Once the couple exited the vehicle, they reported it to the police. Unfortunately, according to Carey, the experience was not a good one. Carey claims one of the officers told the couple they “probably deserved it” and were ultimately dismissive. The police have a different version of events, claiming that a report filed about the incident is currently being investigated.
A spokesperson for the New York City Police Department refuted their claims in a statement:
“After reviewing body camera video from the responding Police Officers, at no time did any of the officers mock the victim, tell him that he probably deserved it or laugh at him.”
As of now, the driver has been removed from Uber while they investigate the incident. Of course, a ban from Uber doesn’t prevent drivers from using other rideshare apps, like Lyft.
“This is my biggest thing,” Carey said to NBC. “Even if Uber has taken him off the app, he can still do this again, and he might do more harm in the future.”