Cops: Shooting Suspect's Uber Lawsuit Is a Hoax

Jason Dalton isn't seeking $10M
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Mar 16, 2016 5:00 PM CDT
Updated Mar 17, 2016 11:41 AM CDT
Uber Driver Suspected in Mich. Rampage Sues Uber
In a Feb. 22, 2016, file photo, Jason Dalton of Kalamazoo Township, Mich., is arraigned via video in Kalamazoo.   (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)

The Uber driver charged with murdering six people during a shooting spree in Kalamazoo, Mich., hasn't sued Uber after all. Police on Thursday declared Wednesday's widespread reports of a lawsuit to be a hoax, reports CBS Detroit. County sheriff's officials talked to suspect Jason Dalton, who seemed to know nothing about the suit seeking $10 million over his "psychological distress," which the lawsuit blamed on the company. Another tipoff: The envelope in which the handwritten filing was sent bore a Philadelphia postmark, and mail coming out of the Kalamazoo jail doesn't go through that city.

"We did a handwriting comparison with Mr. Dalton, we have his handwriting on file—it's definitely not Mr. Dalton's handwriting," says Undersheriff Paul Matyas. "We talked to him and he had no idea what we were talking about. He said that he didn't file any lawsuit, he didn't authorize anyone to file the lawsuit." Whoever posed as Dalton also slipped up in claiming to have worked for Uber for several years; the company has said Dalton started there only in January, the Guardian notes. (Dalton previously told police that the Uber app was controlling his mind through his iPhone during the Feb. 20 rampage.)

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