An Uber Eats driver charged in connection with the assault of a 63-year-old parking attendant in downtown Atlanta has been removed from the app, the company said.
Traemond Jones, 24, was mad because he couldn't park for free Sunday afternoon at the SP Plus parking garage across from the Westin Hotel on Peachtree Street, police said.
“Mr. Jones was unhappy with his interaction with the victim and parked his vehicle on the street, then approached the victim in the parking garage and began to verbally harass him,” Atlanta police spokesman Donald Hannah said.
At that point, the parking attendant can be seen on video surveillance backing away from Jones.
But Jones continues to follow him and ended up hitting him twice in the face and breaking his nose, Hannah said.
The unidentified attendant took out a pocketknife and stabbed Jones in the stomach in self-defense, police said.
Uber released a statement to Channel 2 Action News.
“He has now been removed from the app while we continue to look into the situation,” the company said. “We have a zero-tolerance policy for violence, which is laid out in our community guidelines. We stand ready to assist police with the investigation.”
The victim's son told the news station the stabbing was “out of character” for his shy and quiet dad.
“And for that person to attack him for no reason, it really is pretty upsetting,” Brien Clarke said.
Both Jones and the attendant ended up in the hospital after the incident, Channel 2 reported. Jones’ injuries were not life-threatening. The condition of the parking attendant was not known.
Jones was charged with aggravated battery, police said.
We’re working to learn more.
— Please return to AJC.com for updates.
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