Driving for a rideshare app can be difficult at times. Unfortunately, some passengers don't respect the driver or their car and end up making things more difficult. After picking up a nightmare of a passenger, one Texas Uber driver tried his best to get her to leave his vehicle, and things went seriously downhill from there. Little did he know, she wasn't just your average annoying passenger, she also had a high ranking job...
Weekend Hustle
Rideshare drivers undoubtedly make most of their money working the night shift on weekends. When drunken bar patrons need a ride home, their Uber driver is there for them. This fact basically makes them the unsung heroes of the nightlife scene.
It's Not Always Easy
Being a rideshare driver isn't the easiest job. A lot of drivers have to deal with unruly customers who are drunk, rude or both. The worst-case scenario is having to drive around a disrespectful passenger and not even get a tip at the end of the ordeal. Sadly, one Texas driver got one of the worst passengers he could possibly get, and things escalated quickly...
Bar Patron
Shaun Platt picked up his usual nighttime shift with Uber one weekend in Texas. He had been driving around since happy hour. Things had started to pick up once the bars started their last calls. His phone buzzed with a new ride, and he was off to pick up a woman named Jody.
Just Another Ride
Platt had gotten lucky that night with his rides. Everyone had been nice, mostly sober, and respectful. He even made a good amount of tips already, so he was in a good mood. He finished dropping off a couple at their apartment before heading back to the center of town to pick up Jody. He had no clue what he was in for...
Waiting Outside
Platt pulled up in front of Capitol Pub in Texas alongside a couple of other rideshare drivers. The night was winding down, so he figured he'd probably get a group of belligerent people. This pub, in particular, was pretty notorious for its rowdy crowd. Rideshare companies have a time limit for drivers to wait for their patrons, and typically, if they have to wait for more than 5 minutes, the driver is allowed to cancel the ride and drive away. Platt had been waiting for a while and Jody was nowhere in sight...
No Rush At All
Finally, after three minutes, an obviously drunk woman and her friend made a beeline for his car from the pub's front doors. Jody opened the door, didn't say anything to Platt, and sat down in the car. She left the door open while she continued to talk to her friend for another minute or so. Platt had a bad feeling this was going to end poorly...
She Was Definitely Hammered
Platt politely waited for her to end her conversation before greeting her again. She said nothing to him in response as she shut the door and fastened her seatbelt. He tried to engage in small talk with her but was met with no response. He assumed she preferred a quiet ride, so that's what she was going to get. That wasn't a problem for him at all.
No GPS
Platt, as most Uber drivers do, was using a GPS to navigate them towards Jody's destination. He started following the turns that it was telling him to, which apparently enraged Jody. She said that she didn't like the way the GPS was taking them and that he should only listen to her. Reluctantly, Platt decided to turn the GPS off and listen to his drunken, angry passenger.
They Got Lost
Unsurprisingly, Jody got them lost. She was so drunk that she didn't really know where they were, as Platt suspected. Eventually, she stopped answering him about where to turn. During an interview about the ordeal, Platt remembered, "I said, ‘Should I make a left up here?’ and she refused to answer me." After a while, she finally answered with a, “You can follow the f***ing GPS.”
He Just Wanted To Be Done
After that response, Platt had had it with her. "I just wanted to get her home," he said in an interview. At the next red light, Platt went back to using the GPS on his phone. Apparently, this act forced Jody into an unthinkable rage.
She Got Aggressive
Once Jody noticed that he was back to using his GPS, Platt said that she got aggressive. She started verbally attacking him and smacking him on the shoulder. Once she started touching him, he decided it was time to end this ride once and for all. He was not going to subject himself to that type of behavior.
Over It
“I said, ‘Nope, that’s it,’ and I pulled over on the side of the road,” Platt said when he retold his story. He decided to end the ride and pull over to let her out. Jody became even more enraged at the fact that he wasn't going to be taking her home at all. She exploded on him.
Drunken Fit
In her rage, she told him that she was going to "end him." Platt said that she told him that she, “knows people,” and that she can make sure he was, “never going to work again.” Something told Platt that she wasn't going to leave him alone so easily... So, he got out his voice recorder to prove that this ordeal was really happneing to him.
Five Minutes Was Enough
Platt dealt with her abuse for five whole minutes before he ended the recording and called the police. Before he ended the recording, he can be heard calmly telling her that he was going to call the police unless she leaves him alone. Her response? “Who are they going to believe? I’m a district attorney."
The Alarming Recording
On the audio recording, Jody was heard calling Platt, “stupid,” “a f***ing idiot,” and “a legitimate r***rd.” She even told him, “I want the cops to come so they can f*** you up, that’s what I want.” Obviously, her drunken rage was continuing to grow, so Platt had no other choice but to call the police on her, DA or not!
She Never Stopped
Despite the fact that she was being recorded and the police were on their way, Jody refused to let it go. She can even be heard saying, “I think this might be kidnapping right now, actually.” Platt refuted that statement immediately. “It’s not a kidnapping, ma’am. You’re free to leave.”
Leave The Car
Platt asked Jody to leave his car countless times. The cops were on their way and he had her abuse well documented—he had nothing to lose. He kept his composure throughout the entire ordeal. The recording showed great strength from Platt's side, even as Jody accused him of kidnapping her.
A Kidnapping
Jody continued to claim that she was being kidnapping. She suddenly put on her DA hat and tried to spew laws at him. She is heard saying, “Under the law, it’s recklessly keeping me from where I was going and you have done that. You’re committing a third to first-degree felony, so you don’t want to take me home?”
The Police Arrived
Finally, the police arrived at their location. One officer took a drunken Jody aside while another spoke with Platt. He relayed the entire situation to the officer and even played some of the audio recordings as his proof. Luckily, Jody was belligerent enough to be taken away by the responding officers. Platt thought that the situation ended there...
Called It a Night
After that entire ordeal, Platt was done driving for the night. He was so emotionally drained that all he wanted to do was go home and rest. He decided to vent out his experience on Facebook and post the audio recordings... It spread like wildfire.
She Really Was a DA
As it turns out, Jody really was the District Attorney of their county. This role is really important in a community, one that takes a lot of self-control and empathy. Naturally, people were shocked to see such a disgusting personality tied to such an important role. DA's are to manage the prosecutor's office, investigate alleged crimes with the police, and file criminal charges with evidence.
So Long
Whenever an important political figure in a small community shows their true colors, they're most likely going to get fired. For Jody, that's exactly what happened. That next Monday morning, she was fired from her position as DA. Her drunken bullying caught up to her in the worst way possible...
Playing the Victim
Her apology at the press conference started with a very tearful, “I'm very sorry for the language I used. I’m not proud of it.” She then immediately goes on to claim that the story circulating around was not the "full story," despite the fact that it was completely recorded. Instead of admitting to her faults, she decided to play the victim.
Apology Press Conference
After her termination was announced, she was forced to speak with the citizens of Dallas and apologize at a press conference. Most people assumed that she would take back everything that she said, but that was far from the truth. In fact, she lied during her press conference about things that were recorded. She was obviously not fit for the role.
Lies on Lies
During her news conference, she never mentioned the fact that she stopped giving him directions and ended up getting them lost. Instead, she said that she was scared for her life and was in a "fight or flight" mode.
Scared for Her Life
Even though the audio recording proved that the Uber driver told her to get out of the car and leave multiple times, she claims that she was afraid to. According to the police report, the ride was stopped just one block from her house. If she really feared for her life, she would have run home, right? Needless to say, no one was believing her story.
Bringing Backup
Elizabeth Frizell, an ex-judge who worked with Jody, defended her by saying, “When you have a prosecutor who has tried sex assault cases for almost a decade, you know the signs. Her concern was heightened.” Even with the well-respected judge's backup, the community did not buy it. The proof was in the recording!
More Excuses
Naturally, more big-wigs came to her defense. Defense lawyer Pete Schulte grossly defended her. “I could be unethical, cause perhaps an innocent person to be sent to prison for life,” Schulte said, “but I will lose my job when I have a bad night with an Uber driver who comes on to me, and I want to get out of there. That's the message that this DA is sending to 250 lawyers [in the DA’s office].”
Apologies to Everyone but Platt
During her somewhat pathetic attempt at saving face, Jody made a point to address the families that she was working with at the time of her termination. She apologized to, "any victims and their parents. ... I'm not going to follow through on your cases and I know I promised y'all I would." Most people believe that was just an attempt to make people feel bad for her, even though she put herself in that position. Platt was never offered an apology.
Total Forgiveness
Platt never had the intention of Jody losing her job. Unfortunately, that's how the community reacted to the horrific situation. “My only hope is that she learns from his,” he said. “She can’t treat people like that because I’m not a doctor or a lawyer or someone she hangs around.”
The Lesson To Be Learned
Even though the higher-ups defended Jody's disgusting actions, she still lost her job and her livelihood. There is something to learn from this! Being nice to strangers is one of the most important things you can do when paying someone for a service. Also, getting a handle on your drinking when you're a high-status public figure is probably a good idea... So, where is Jody now?
Where Is Jody Now?
Honestly, that's the big question. She hasn't gotten another public service job since the incident. Even people on Reddit have asked what happened to her, and no one really had an answer. One person did make a joke and say that she was working at the pub that Platt picked her up from that infamous night...
She's Not Employed By a Firm
Apparently, this situation also made her unemployable. According to the State Bar of Texas website, Jody still has her license to practice law but is not employed by a firm as of November 2019. Texas state law requires attorneys to post their whereabouts when changes are made... So, it's safe to say that she's not in her line of work nowadays.
It Does Happen, It Just Didn't Happen To Jody
Jody pretended that she was afraid for her life because she was being driven by a male uber driver. Sadly, this is the reality for a lot of people who rely on ridesharing apps such as Uber. There have been instances where people have gotten killed because they were kidnapped by their Uber driver, and Jody decided to use that to her advantage. All in all, it was just a gross situation and a big teaching moment for everyone involved.