Screening Of Uber, Lyft Drivers To Be Examined By County Council

SEATTLE, WA — A King County Council committee will take up the issue of Uber and Lyft driver screenings on Monday, just weeks after the latest local arrest of a rideshare driver accused of sexually assaulting a passenger.

In late April, Bellevue police arrested Ghassan Shakir, 34, for assaulting an Arizona woman in his car. The woman fell asleep during a ride between Bellevue and Seattle, and woke up to find herself handcuffed with Shakir groping her, police say.

Shakir is a suspect in other similar assaults in Kirkland, Sea-Tac, and Seattle, according to Bellevue police.

On St. Patrick's Day, a woman was assaulted after getting in a rideshare car outside a Kirkland bar. And last December, a woman was raped on a ride between Ballard and White Center after she got into a fake rideshare car. A Tukwila man, Israel Ramos-Islas, 34, was charged with rape in that case in April.

The King County Council Government Accountability and Oversight Committee will get a briefing on drivers screenings Monday from Uber and Lyft. The county Records and Licensing department, which oversees taxi and rideshare driver certification in King County, will also be involved.

We will update this story with details after the committee meeting on Monday afternoon.