Uber driver charged with punching S.F. passenger

An Uber driver plugs an address into his phone before driving a passenger to her destination on May 2. Background checks for Uber drivers have recently come under fire. An Uber driver plugs an address into his phone before driving a passenger to her destination on May 2. Background checks for Uber drivers have recently come under fire. Photo: Leah Millis, San Francisco Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Leah Millis, San Francisco Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Uber driver charged with punching S.F. passenger 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

A driver with transportation firm Uber was charged Tuesday with striking a passenger in San Francisco's Castro neighborhood, in a case that heightened the debate over the regulation of startups that have disrupted the taxi industry.

Daveea Whitmire, 28, of San Francisco punched his passenger in the hand and elbowed him in the chest after the two got into an argument in November, according to the district attorney's office. The passenger didn't think Whitmire was the driver assigned to his ride, prosecutors said, and took a photo of the license plate, prompting Whitmire to lash out.

Though Whitmire passed Uber's background checks, court records show he has a criminal past, including convictions for felony drug dealing and misdemeanor battery.

"We want to make sure anything that indicates a potential for violence and potential for poor driving habits is clearly known," said District Attorney George Gascón. "We're trying to protect the consumer as they're engaging this service."

Gascón not only filed a charge against Whitmire, after an investigation by his office, but also contacted state regulators to ask that Uber and other companies better screen their drivers.

The industry, which uses mobile phone apps to connect drivers with riders, has created a number of legal questions with its rapid rise into the mainstream.

In September, the California Public Utilities Commission passed 28 preliminary rules, including requirements for background checks and zero-tolerance drug and alcohol policies. Whether the terms are strong enough remains a matter of dispute.

In February, Uber voluntarily tightened its hiring screens after being questioned about Whitmire and another driver, Syed Muzaffar, who was arrested for hitting and killing 6-year-old Sofia Liu on New Year's Eve. Muzaffar had been accused of reckless driving in Florida nearly a decade ago.

Uber's tighter background checks, however, cannot use records that are more than seven years old under California law.

Whitmire was convicted of a felony for selling marijuana in 2009 and a misdemeanor battery of a store clerk in 2012, as first reported by PandoDaily.

Earlier this year, he was charged with another misdemeanor battery, unrelated to Uber, for allegedly slamming a woman to the ground in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury neighborhood. He has pleaded not guilty.

An Uber representative said in an e-mail Tuesday that the company would "defer to the criminal justice system to take matters from here." Whitmire was let go from Uber last year, the representative said.