Uber sanctioned, didn’t comply with warrant
MARTINEZ >> Uber was sanctioned Friday for its failure to comply with a search warrant for records on a driver suspected of sexually battering a female passenger for more than 10 minutes, with a judge calling its reputation for dealing with law enforcement “horrific.” For weeks, Moraga detectives have been waiting for the troubled ride-hailing company to comply with a signed search warrant that asked for 90 days of records on 42-year-old Leonid Beker, a former driver who was arrested earlier this month on suspicion of sexual battery. Police were supposed to meet with county prosecutors to review the case Monday, but Uber’s failure to turn over records has hampered the investigation.
The alleged attack happened on May 26, when the woman who reported it was traveling to Moraga to visit friends. She told police Beker stopped the car, got in the back seat, and restrained and attacked her.
Before imposing a $1,000 sanction, which takes effect Monday if Uber hasn’t submitted the records by then, Judge Clare Maier blasted the ride hailing company for its history of failing to cooperate with law enforcement, and said she was “very concerned” the company had an “ulterior motive” for its noncompliance in the Beker case.
“I don’t think you have the authority to resist a search warrant,” Maier told an attorney for Uber, later describing the company’s attitude as, “Give as little as possible, be as uncooperative as possible.”
Uber says it plans to comply with the court’s Friday order.
“Over the past month, we’ve worked with police and provided information about this driver and the trip in question to support their investigation. As we assured the judge today, we will fully comply with providing additional information about riders who took trips with this driver,” according to a statement issued Friday afternoon by company spokeswoman Tracey Breeden.
Uber is under federal investigation for its use of Greyball, a secretive software tool that helped it thwart law enforcement officers who were trying to shut down the ride-hailing service in certain cities. In California, Uber refused to apply for the permit required to test its self-driving cars on public roads, leading to a two-month stand-off with state regulators before Uber finally backed down. And the company recently refused to provide driver information sought by San Francisco, prompting the city to get a court order Thursday forcing Uber to comply.
Maier’s order came on the heels of a series of scandals and internal investigations at Uber. Uber fired 20 workers over complaints of sexual harassment on June 6, and CEO Travis Kalanick resigned earlier this week.
Candace Kelly, an attorney representing Uber, said the company is “very committed to safety.” She listed multiple explanations for Uber’s resistance to the search warrant, at one point saying that 90 days of records was too much, and at another point saying the company didn’t want law enforcement calling passengers and asking if they’d had a bad experience with an Uber driver.
“I think most riders would welcome a phone call to make sure they’re safe,” the judge responded.
Kelly also suggested that the company should only have to turn over one-star ratings and other negative performance records, but not records for rides that got a five-star review. She said it was unlikely a sexual assault victim would give a good review.
“We’re not trying to be obstructionist at all, we’re just trying to be fair and balanced,” Kelly said.
Prosecutor Jeremy Seymour, though, said law enforcement wants to look at Beker’s behavior with other passengers, and rejected the notion that customers giving a five-star rating would preclude the possibility of them being victims. He said the company had been “non-responsive” to the warrant.