An Abbotsford man has been sentenced to one year of probation for assaulting an Uber driver in April.
William Tickle, 38, was initially charged with assault causing bodily harm and uttering threats, but was sentenced June 28 on the lesser offence of assault. The uttering-threats charge was stayed.
Tickle was charged in late April in relation to an incident that occurred April 18 in Abbotsford.
Police previously reported that they responded at 6:45 a.m. that day to the 2300 block of McCallum Road, where Uber driver Aman Sood had been assaulted by a passenger.
Sood captured the incident on his dashcam, and the footage, which was posted to social media, showed the man suddenly punching Sood in the head.
Sood later explained that he had stopped the vehicle after the passenger became verbally aggressive. He asked the man to get out of the car, and he attacked Sood.
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The confrontation then continued outside, lasting three to five minutes, Sood said.
The passenger left before police arrived, but the investigation led to him being identified as Tickle and then arrested on April 27.
Sood, a 40-year-old immigrant originally from India who came to Canada in 2019, suffered injuries to his neck, shoulder and right wrist.
Sood and BC Federation of Labour president Sussanne Skidmore met with Minister of Labour Harry Bains in early May to push for legislation that would change the classification of so-called gig workers like Sood working for app-based companies such as Uber.
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They are currently classified as contract workers and, therefore, outside the WorkSafeBC system that covers most workers.
Sood has said he does not plan to work for Uber again.
Tickle has an extensive criminal record dating back to 2004, including convictions for offences such as assault with a weapon, sexual interference, break-and-enter, robbery, failing to stop at an accident, possession of an unauthorized firearm and more.
Tickle still has charges before the courts for dangerous driving and driving while disqualified in Langley on April 27, 2022. His trial on those charges is slated to start on Aug. 10.
– with files from Wolf Depner
vikki.hopes@abbynews.com
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