An alarming assault of an Uber driver has led to charges for an Abbotsford man.
“Over the past week, AbbyPD officers have been advancing this investigation, working with Uber and our law enforcement partners to identify and arrest the suspect,” said Sgt. Paul Walker.
Abbotsford police announced Friday that 38-year-old William Tickle was located and arrested without further incident in connection with the assault of an Uber driver assault reported on April 18.
The BC Prosecution Service has approved charges of assault and uttering threats.
A video of the incident sparked outrage and concerns across the province.
Abbotsford police said Tickle remains in custody and is expected to appear in court Friday.
Aman Sood, the assault victim and Uber driver, spoke with Global News earlier this week.
Sood said the passenger became verbally abusive over his route choice and when Sood pulled over, the passenger attacked him.
The video shows the passenger leaning forward, yelling and then beginning to punch Sood in the head.
Sood gets out of the car, following the passenger, and more yelling can be heard coming from outside. He said he has not been able to work since.
“Almost all the time I have a headache,” he told reporters Wednesday. He said he also has pains in his arm and his shoulder.
“Abbotsford is not immune to random violent attacks. However, thanks to the timely and full cooperation from Mr. Sood and Uber, we swiftly arrested this violent offender,” said Insp. Kevin Murray.
“Incidents like these remain a top priority for AbbyPD in bringing these offenders before the court to be accountable for their actions.”
Sood and Sussanne Skidmore, the head of the B.C. Federation of Labour, are calling for the province to change legislation to allow gig workers to access benefits if they are hurt while on the job.
“When I talked to Aman the other day, one of the things he said to me was, ‘I can’t stop that this thing happened to me but I can ensure that it doesn’t happen to other workers,’” Skidmore said.
In a statement, Uber Canada said, “The behaviour in the video is disturbing and unacceptable. We’ve banned the rider’s account, been in touch with the driver, and stand ready to work with police on any investigation.”
B.C.’s Minister of Labour, Harry Bains, said the province is working to get these workers protected and is looking at ways of finding support for them.
“Regardless of who the employer is, our emphasis always is the workers, their health and safety,” Bains said.
“No matter who they are, their responsibility is the health and safety of their employees and when they are injured, whey they are ill, then what kind of support is available to them and we want to make sure that we are covered.”
— with files from Amy Judd and Christa Dao