A Newport Beach man has been arrested after video surfaced showing him allegedly attacking his Uber driver in Costa Mesa.
Benjamin Golden, 32, was taken into custody Friday night at a shopping center, after attacking his Uber driver, Edward Caban, according to police.
Caban posted a clip of the incident, recorded on his dash camera on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/xtJVbsHIj9o
The passenger in the video appears to argue with Caban over directions. When the driver pulls into a shopping center, the passenger seems to fall over in his seat. The two men argue and Caban tells the passenger to get out of the car.
“Get out of my car or I will call the police,” Caban says.
The passenger first opens the door, but then starts to hit the driver from behind and pulls his hair. Caban then pepper sprays the man in his face.
Police arrived after 8 p.m. and Golden was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a taxicab operator and of public intoxication. He was released from custody with a promise to appear in court.
Uber annnounced that Golden has been permanently banned from the service. Meanwhile, Caban told KNBC that the assault has made him want to stop working as an Uber driver.
“I wanted to make sure he didn’t get away,” Caban said. “I have lost so much money on people like him and I’m done dealing with it. They take the food right out of my mouth.
