Many people are applauding the Philadelphia Parking Authority for it’s quick action in supporting two gay men.
On the night of March 16, friends Joel Bautista and Michael Rios were riding home after a night at a sports bar on Broad and Walnut Streets.
The two briefly talked about their love lives before moving on to conversation about Lasik surgery. It was then that their cab driver, Daman Sacko, pulled over and told them to get out.
“We asked him why, and he said, ‘I don’t want that gay sh** in my car,’ ” Rios explained to the Inquirer. “I said, ‘But we’re talking about Lasik surgery!’”
After taking a photo of Sacko’s driver certificate and calling the PPA, Sacko was immediately brought in for questioning.
“We received his complaint at 10 a.m. and by 2:30, we had the cabbie in here for an interview,” said Christine Kirlin, the head of the PPA’s Taxi and Limousine Division.
Bautista and Rios said they never intended to go for Sacko’s job. They just wanted to make sure he knew that what he did to them wasn’t ok.
That said, Sacko changed his story several times during the interview, according ot the Inquirer. He allegedly said the two had “talked dirty” in the cab before shifting his story to saying they propositioned him. Then, he resorted to the stoyr that they had him pull over early, but refused to pay their fare.
Once the two men heard that, they decided to take Sacko to court and the PPA supported them completely.
The PPA issued Sacko a citation on March 19, which he appealed. Then he lost his July 12 administrative hearing and was fined $175 and had his driver’s certificate suspended for 30 days.
The PPA shares that it plans to have Daman Sacko go through anti-discrimination training before they let him drive for them again. If he goes through another situation like this, they’ll then look into canceling his driver certification permanently.
This is another incident when a ride-share driver has kicked out LGBTQ people.
In late June, a Washington D.C. man was kicked out by his Uber driver for the way that he spoke and saying the word "Darling." Then earlier that month, a New York City man was kicked out of a cab after the driver directly asked him, "Are you gay?" Then in May, an Indiana couple was kicked out of their Lyft after sharing a chaste kiss.
h/t: The Inquirer
Looks like Damon Sacko just
Looks like Damon Sacko just got Sack – Oed.
Did you mean suspended for 30
Did you mean suspended for 30 years or days?
Days. Thank you for the
Days. Thank you for the correction.
I hope it’s 30 years
I hope it's 30 years