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“I never do nothing”: Gig driver sues SF suburb after violently attacked by police dog

3 mins read

After missing car rental payments, a Bay Area gig driver was stopped by the police in December 2020 and was allegedly punished excessively and was even attacked by a police dog, SFGATE reported.

The driver is said to be suing a suburb in the San Francisco area after what happened.

Complainant Ali Badr was seen suffering in pain as his arm was being bit by a San Ramon police dog, videos captured through body cameras and dashboard show, which a copy was obtained by San Francisco Chronicle. The biting lasted for over a minute then officers were seen trying to put cuffs on him.

“I never do nothing,” the 42-year-old Oakland resident screams, as seen on videos. “I never in my life do anything.”

Badr started becoming an Uber and Lyft driver, as well as a DoorDash food delivery man, at the onset of the pandemic, according to a news outlet. He settled on renting a CarMommy-owned Toyota Camry when he can’t afford to keep his own car due to financial constraints, the lawsuit said.

In a statement to The Chronicle, Badr said he did not keep up with rental payments but committed to CarMommy that he will pay shortly.

Ali Badr, a resident of Oakland and Egyptian immigrant, shows the damaged ring and pinky finger on his right hand at his attorney’s office in Oakland, Calif., on Dec. 16, 2021. Badr, a gig driver who was badly mauled by a police dog is suing the San Francisco Bay Area city of San Ramon, alleging use of excessive force and violation of civil rights when police stopped him in December 2020 for missing rental car payments. Badr drove for Uber and Lyft and started delivering food for DoorDash when the pandemic hit. (Yalonda M. James/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

The arrangement was not made for the first time, he claimed. However, Badr’s attorney Matthew Haley said that CarMommy CEO and cofounder John Blomeke reported that the car was stolen. This led to its license plate falling into the state Department of Justice database listing.

As he headed to work, Badr’s rental car’s plate alerted the police that it was stolen, due to a license plate reader trigger.

Then, police stopped him as the dog barked. Badr sustained injuries and was brought to the hospital for treatment.

In an email, San Ramon Police Chief Craig Stevens told The Chronicle that an internal probe was done in line with the encounter with Badr. He did not provide any more details about the federal lawsuit which was filed by Badr against San Ramon, Stevens himself, and the department police officers last month.

Also included in the parties being sued were CarMommy, Blomeke, as well as the renter broker HyreCar Inc. of Los Angeles.

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