Dallas assistant prosecutor fired over Uber meltdown
Allegedly drunk passenger loses job after threatening driver.
It’s going to take a miracle for her to get her Uber rating back up.
Texas prosecutor Jody Warner, 32, launched a weepy, remorseful tour Tuesday after she was fired as an assistant district attorney with Dallas County when her Uber driver released a recording of her hurling insults and accusations at him.
The driver, Shaun Platt, 26, alleged that she slapped his shoulder and repeatedly berated him as he was taking her home, according to the Dallas Morning News.
Platt was driving Warner home from a bar in East Dallas on Friday night when he said she became increasingly irate towards him and insisted that he use a different route to her destination.
"She kept saying she's an assistant DA and said, 'Who are they going to believe, you or me?' and I said, 'You know what? You're kind of right,' so I took out my phone and I recorded it," he told ABC News.
On the recording, Warner can be heard cursing at and insulting the driver, calling him an “idiot” and “a legitimate retard.”
Platt decided to pull over after he heard Warner say, “I think this might be a kidnapping.” He then ended the ride on his Uber app and asked Warner to get out of his vehicle. The attorney refused and told Platt, “I’m an assistant district attorney” and "You're so stupid. I want the cops to come so that they can f--- you up."
With no recourse, the driver called the cops. Once they arrived, he declined to press charges.
"I'm very sorry for the language I used. I'm not proud of it," Warner tearfully said at a press conference on Tuesday. "I appreciate being given the opportunity to give my side. I'm not trying to make any accusations against that driver. I don't know what's in his heart. I can tell you that not everything he said was true. I never touched him."
Jody Warner was fired from her job as an assistant district attorney in Dallas County, Texas after she was caught on video being belligerent towards her Uber driver.
"I'm not ever going to justify anything that I said,” she added. “There's just a little bit more to it, and I was wrong."
The mea culpa came a day after she was ousted from her position by Dallas County District Attorney Faith Johnson.
"After careful consideration and a thorough investigation, I have decided to terminate Ms. Warner. Although criminal charges have not been filed, her behavior is contrary to this office's core principle of integrity, and it will not be tolerated," Johnson said in a released statement. "As public servants, we represent the people of Dallas County and are examples of justice, professionalism and ethical behavior both inside and outside of the courtroom. I will not waver on my expectation of the highest integrity for myself or my staff. I will continue to run this office with transparency and respect for the justice system and the community we serve.”
Warner responded in a statement of her own.
"I cringe whenever I hear or think about the things that I said that night. It was unacceptable, and no one deserves to be called names,“ she said.
"That being said, the audio doesn't tell you that I was in a situation that made me feel very uncomfortable, and I became defensive and eventually angry.”
Platt said to ABC that he was sorry that the incident led to Warner being fired.
“That was not my intent, but you don't treat people that way."
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