San Francisco police report that Subhakar Khadka was driving three passengers when an altercation transpired after one wasn’t wearing a mask.
What We Know:
- Khadka was pepper-sprayed and assaulted after ejecting the passengers from his vehicle for not following coronavirus mask protocols. Video of the altercation captures the passengers Malaysia King (Left) and Arna Kimiai (Right), ripping off Khadka’s mask and coughing on him. The third passenger is not being considered a suspect, so her name is not publicly available. Uber has issued a statement in regards to the incident and asserts, “The behavior seen in the video is appalling.”
- Things began to escalate after Khadka suggested he could detour to a gas station and pick up masks for the passengers. But they grew impatient with the Uber driver and began to threaten him, which prompted Khadka to turn on his dashcam as evidence. California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom recently informed the public that he would be “doubling down” on COVID-19 protocols in his state. The claim comes following news of various Governor’s lifting their mask mandates in their states amid rapidly increasing vaccination efforts.
- In 2020, Uber made it a requirement for all passengers to wear masks after the coronavirus outbreak struck. Uber has since banned all three passengers, and in response to being banned, Kimiai made a statement in a video post claiming, “That’s why I take Lyft.” Lyft took notice of the video and hailed a response of their own in a tweet, permanently banning Arna Kimiai from their platform.
“Although this incident did not involve the Lyft platform, the unacceptable treatment of the driver in this video compelled us to permanently remove the rider from the Lyft community. Driving in a pandemic is not easy. Please wear a mask, respect one another, and be a good person.”
— Lyft (@lyft) March 9, 2021
- Lt. Tracy McCray of the San Francisco police department asserts, “We take this conduct very seriously in San Francisco, and we’re committed to ensuring that justice is done in this case.” Since the incident, Arna Kimiai’s attorney has reported that the passenger has plans to turn herself in. Malaysia King was arrested in Las Vegas and is being charged with: assault with a caustic chemical, conspiracy, assault & battery, and violation of health and safety codes.
It appears as if Subhakar Khadka’s actions and quick thinking have cast a spotlight on a culture of people attracted to deviancy.
