Driver cancels ride after passenger remarks
BY KELLY LUTTERSCHMIDT
klutterschmidt@tnonline.com
Catasauqua Police Department is investigating a complaint filed by a ride-share driver who captured an incident on his dashboard camera May 13 involving the owner of a borough bar and her boyfriend.
Police Chief Douglas Kish confirmed a report of the incident, which took place in the parking lot of Fossil’s Last Stand, 429 Race St.
A video posted on social media showing the ride-share driver refusing to transport a woman after she made what he considered to be inappropriate remarks continues to go viral, collecting comments of praise for the driver’s handling of the situation and condemnation for the woman who was to be his passenger and a man standing close by.
The video, taken from his dashcam, captured the event from the time he confirmed the woman’s name, Jackie, as his scheduled passenger until the time she exited the vehicle after the ride was canceled.
Kish confirmed the woman on the video is Jackie Harford, the owner of the bar.
The video recording captured the following dialogue:
“You’re like a white guy,” the woman said as she got in the back seat.
“What’s that?” the driver asked.
“You’re like a white guy,” the woman repeated.
“Excuse me,” the driver said.
“You’re like a normal guy. Like you speak English,” the woman said.
The driver then told her he was canceling the ride because her comments were inappropriate. He told her to get out of his vehicle, and the woman questioned him, asking if he was serious.
When she exited the vehicle, a male with her could be heard, calling the driver “an f--ing n-- lover” and saying, “I should punch you in the f--ing face.”
Kish said the male is Harford’s boyfriend, but the department did not yet have his name.
The driver told the two people the entire incident had been captured on his dashcam and that he planned to call the police.