Kettering, OH — A Lyft driver tried to pull her firearm during a fight between her and a passenger last Thursday morning.

It started when a male Lyft passenger began saying things that made her uncomfortable while she was taking him to Meijer.

It started when the driver reached for her gun, but the man saw what she was doing and reached for it too. The driver and the man fought, and the gun went off once, but no one got hit.

Cynthia James is the public information officer for Kettering Police. She said, “She (the driver) claimed the male made some sort of statement to her, saying that he didn’t want to hurt her and that he just wanted to be given a ride.”

The man got ahold of her gun, which was a Glock 17, and fled the scene when they got to the Meijer. The Kettering police attempted to use a K9 to track and locate the suspect, but he had already fled the scene.

He had on a green hoodie, blue jeans, and a dark-colored cap with a short grayish beard.

“It sounds like it could have been a lot worse if she didn’t have a means to protect herself,” James said.

Despite company policy prohibiting ride-share drivers from carrying firearms while working, there has been a noticeable increase in incidents over the past year where ride-share drivers have had to defend themselves. There was a case in September where a police officer pulled up behind the vehicle as the passenger was attempting to rob the ride-share driver at gunpoint. The entire incident was caught on dash cam .

Lyft Driver Firearm Policy

“Lyft has a strict “No Weapons” policy for all of its properties. This includes Lyft Hubs and service centers.

Our “No Weapons” policy applies when you are doing business as a representative of Lyft, which includes times that you are driving for Lyft, as well as times that you are visiting a Lyft Hub.

This means that even in places where it is legal to carry a weapon, we ask that you do not carry a weapon on any Lyft property.

We approach this from a community perspective. It’s hard to know what someone else is or isn’t comfortable with. The mere presence of a weapon might make another community member distressed and fear for his or her own personal safety.

At a minimum, a “weapon” includes any form of firearm. There are many items that could be considered weapons besides firearms, such as handguns, stun guns, explosives, knives, sling shots and tasers. Lyft reserves sole judgment on what else may constitute a “weapon.”  If you have any questions about whether various items could be considered a “weapon” under this policy, please contact Lyft Support before bringing any questionable items onto Lyft property.”

It may be time for Lyft and Uber to reconsider their policies.

Source: Gun Goes Off During Fight Between Lyft Driver and Passenger