An Uber Eats driver says that a customer exposed his genitals to him and that he’s frustrated by Uber and the Chicago Police Department’s initial dismissal of the incident.
“A detective literally told me if I was a woman things would be different,” Garcia says in his TikTok, which on Tuesday had over 300,000 views.
In a follow-up video, Garcia says that he was asked to bring the food delivery to the door of a residence and that when he did, he was greeted by a man “smiling with his penis out.”
“[The man] shook it,” Garcia says in a TikTok. “And he said, ‘Oh sorry about that’ and smirked.”
In a phone statement to the Daily Dot, the Chicago Police Department confirmed that Garcia called 911, and a police report consistent with his description of the incident in his TikTok video was filed. The Daily Dot has submitted a request for the full police report.
Garcia says that when he called 911, the dispatcher told him, “Well, what do you want us to do about it?”
“I want an officer to come,” Garcia says he told the 911 dispatcher.
Garcia says the officer who arrived on the scene was “dismissive” and told him to “forget about it and just leave.” The officer asked Garcia if he “really wanted to pursue” reporting the incident, the delivery driver says.
“I was angry,” Garcia says in another TikTok. “Here I am, trying to support my kids delivering food, and this officer is telling me to forget about it, it’s not worth the trouble.”
He says that when he asked the officer to call a supervisor, the officer refused. Garcia says when he called himself, a sergeant arrived after 45 minutes and told him that “technically the guy didn’t commit a crime because he didn’t cross the threshold and he didn’t touch himself.”
“[It seems] deliberate,” Garcia says of the man who exposed himself. “It sounds like this guy does this all the time but no one reports it.”
In his initial video, Garcia lists the address he says belongs to the customer who exposed his genitalia. The Daily Dot could not reach the resident of the address.
With regard to Uber, Garcia says he was directed to a phone number on the platform and that he “spoke to no one.”
In an email statement to the Daily Dot, an Uber spokesperson said that the company “removed the customer’s access to the [Uber Eats] platform.”
“What this driver experienced is very disturbing,” the spokesperson told the Daily Dot. “We have a dedicated team who is standing ready to assist law enforcement with their investigation.”
In a final TikTok video about the incident, Garcia says he received a letter from the Chicago Police Department’s Bureau of Internal Affairs saying that it’s investigating the officer who initially met him at the scene.
Garcia also says Uber gave him $3,200 to cover the costs of any emotional or physical support he might need.