Jason Dalton
Update, 11:52 a.m. Thursday: A lawsuit attributed to Jason Dalton, the Uber driver charged with going on a murderous shooting spree, is a hoax, Kalamazoo County's undersheriff tells WOOD-TV of Grand Rapids,.
The Detroit News is among print media with outdated coverage Thursday.
The lawsuit had courthouse stamps on it showing that it had been filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit, but was not written or authorized by Dalton, the undersheriff said. The lawsuit was asking Uber for $10 million in punitive damage, and was written by hand, which is typical of inmates. Dalton is being housed in the Kalamazoo County Jail.
“I was suspicious last night when I saw the envelope the lawsuit came in was postmarked Philadelphia. We investigated and Dalton did not send it, did not authorize it and does not know who sent it. Further, it was not his handwriting and it is not a jail envelope,” the undersheriff saiys in an email Thursday.
The FBI has been contacted, the station says.
Original article, Wednesday night:
Jason Brian Dalton, the Uber driver from hell who went on a shooting spree while on the job in February, killing six and wounding two, is suing Uber for $10 million in punitive damages.
In a handwritten federal lawsuit posted by WWJ, Dalton writes:
"I worked years as an Uber contractor and they ripped me off, never paid me back wages or overtime. I busted my butt for them, they gave me no Christmas bonus, I wasn’t invited to any corporate parties. They made me work when I was sick and didn’t let me spend time with my two children.”
"Uber treats its drivers like crap. I had to pay my own gas and I hit lots of pot holes and Uber would not fix my Chevy Equinox and Uber would call my phone late at night and make me work or say I was fired."
“This company is a hostile workplace environment. I am tired of being treated by second class citizen by Uber. Uber discriminates against my mental health.”
The company responds in a statement quoted by the Detroit Free Press:
"It's hard to know how to respond to someone who refuses to take responsibility for his own actions. Our hearts go out to victims' families who have to live with the consequences of his terrible crimes."
Dalton lists his address on the suit as 1500 Lamont St., Kalamazoo, which is the Kalamazoo County Jail.
He faces murder charges and has been ordered to undergo a mental competency exam.