A video which has since become viral depicting a DC coffee shop owner racially berating a Venezuelan origin Uber Eats driver has drawn deep revulsions among netizens and there are calls to arrest the shop owner. An UberEats delivery driver from Venezuela is asking for justice and alleged that he was berated and assaulted by a D.C. coffee shop owner. Read on to know the complete story.
On Monday morning a Uber Eats delivery driver Gregorio José Amundarain Lávate went to Canna Coffee on Florida Avenue in Northwest D.C. to pick up an order.
Amundarain Lávate who did not know English said through a translator,
“He told me that the order was ready. When I went to look for the order, he told me I needed to learn English. And I told him I don’t speak English. That’s when he became upset,”
The UberEats delivery driver was a native of Venezuela and could only understand the Spanish language. After the altercation with the shop owner, immediately started recording the interaction to be furnished later as proof of the shop owner’s inappropriate actions. The video has since become viral on social media.
The driver, who is a native of Venezuela, said he began to have proof and the video has since gone viral on social media.
Amundarain Lávate said
“Here I am working, trying to provide for my family that’s in Venezuela, and change my life here for the better, little by little,”
In the video cafe’s owner Greg Harris can be seen yelling and berating the driver for not understanding English. He also taunted the driver and said that if he is getting money in America he should learn English. He also said that this was not the driver’s native country.
Amundarain Lávate added that the shop owner was practically humiliating him just because he did not know the language.
When the media house WTOP tried to contact the shop owner to interview he retorted back on his Instagram account with the caption,
“Wanna know what happened? Gotta pay for an exclusive.”
Meanwhile the D.C. police said it is investigating the incident which can be labeled as a possible hate crime and a case of simple assault. The owner has not been arrested or charged.
Meanwhile Uber in a statement said,
“We are absolutely disgusted by this behavior. Uber is proud to help people from many backgrounds find work in their communities, and hate has no place on our platform. We have removed this business from the app and are working to get in touch with the courier to check on his well-being.”
Grubhub, which also has a partnership with DC coffee shop said,
“We are aware of the incident with another delivery service at Canna Coffee. Delivery partners should always be treated with respect, and we’re doing a full investigation with this merchant before taking any further action.”
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