Driver Accused in Kalamazoo Shooting Spree Files $10 Million Civil Rights Lawsuit Against Uber [UPDATED]
On Tuesday, Jason Brian Dalton, the 45-year-old man charged with murdering six people in a shooting spree last month, filed a $10 million federal civil rights lawsuit against Uber. Dalton, a driver for the ride-sharing company, told police that the Uber app on his phone “literally took over his mind and body.”
In the two-page, handwritten lawsuit, Dalton accused the company of ripping him off, failing to pay him back wages and neglecting to invite him to “corporate parties.”
His court-appointed attorney, Eusebio Solis, told the Battle Creek Enquirer on Wednesday that he had not been aware of the lawsuit until reporters called him to ask about it. Kalamazoo Count Sheriff Paul Matyas said the same thing.
Dalton is also charged with six counts of murder, two counts of assault with intent to commit murder, and eight counts of felony firearm use in connection with the February shooting spree, and his mental competency in that case will be determined no later than May 2.
“Uber treats their drivers like crap,” he wrote in his letter, dated March 11. “Uber discriminates against my mental health.”
In a statement, the company said: “It’s hard to know how to respond to someone who refuses to take responsibility for his own actions.”
“Our hearts go out to the victims’ families who have to live with the consequences of his terrible crimes.”
Dalton is seeking a jury trial in his civil rights lawsuit.
Update – 3/17/16
Investigators have determined that the letter attributed to Dalton is bogus.