Ex-Seattle cop investigated for conduct toward female Uber passenger



SEATTLE -- A former Seattle Police officer is under investigation for allegedly imprisoning a female passenger in his Uber vehicle.

The woman says he refused to let her out of the car for an hour. In March 2015, the same officer was fired from SPD after being accused of hitting on women he met during investigations.

Seattle Police say this is an open and active investigation, but Uber has said this driver has already been barred from using all of their platforms following these allegations. Q13 News is not naming the suspect at this time because he has not been arrested or charged.

A woman claims in December her Uber driver wouldn’t let her out of the car and talked about anger he has for women. The woman then says he kissed her during the trip and asked for her phone number, saying if she lied about it, he could get it anyway from Uber.

An Uber representative tells Q13 News that isn’t true and that drivers have no way of getting that kind of personal information. The man also cleared Uber’s background check.

The woman also says he repeatedly texted her, then made it into the locked courtyard of her apartment building.

“That’s actually really creepy because I use to take it (Uber) frequently at night like at 10 p.m., so that’s really terrifying,” said Anamia Keely. It’s just one example of why she is taking a Strategic Living, LLC self-defense class.

“If you try to get close to me, I can’t actually fight you off,” said Keely.

The class’s instructor, Joanne Factor, isn’t familiar with this particular case but warns that typically an attacker will show red flags before committing a crime.

“The first thing is every attacker needs a target and an opportunity, and somebody like this is probably going to say some things initially to test the person’s boundaries,” said Factor.