AUSTIN, Texas — The family of slain Austin protestor Garrett Foster is now suing Uber, claiming they should have known that his alleged killer, Sgt. Daniel Perry, was a "dangerous, ticking time-bomb."
Perry was charged with the 2020 death of Foster. Reportedly, he shot and killed Foster while he was driving with Uber in Downtown Austin. As he pulled into a crowd of protestors, reports state he found himself surrounded. He was eventually approached by Perry, who was said to be carrying a weapon at the time.
The lawsuit states that Perry posted online that he had previously threatened to shoot protestors.
"Perry's online animosity was not just rhetorical, and it was not at all ambiguous," the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit also states that although Uber had a "nominal policy" preventing its drivers from carrying firearms, the company did not generally enforce it. It also claims Perry fired six times toward Perry, striking him four times.
Clint Broden, Perry's attorney, issued a statement to KVUE on the development suggesting Foster's family is "attempting to profit from the poor decisions Mr. Foster made leading up to his death and immediately prior to his death."
Broden goes on to add the Foster family's lawsuit neglects to add other details, including what Broden says is Foster's "advocating the maiming of police officers on social media."
"After a thorough investigation, one of the leading homicide detectives in the State of Texas concluded that Sgt. Perry acted in self-defense after protestors surrounded Sgt. Perry’s vehicle and Foster approached Sgt. Perry’s vehicle with an assault rifle in the ready position," Broden said in the statement.
Uber also released a statement to KVUE regarding the new suit.
"Unfortunately we aren’t able to comment on pending litigation. As we’ve released in the past, this incident is not related to the Uber platform," a spokesperson for the rideshare service said.
For now, Perry remains indicted on multiple charges, including murder, in the case. In August, his attempt to get the murder charge dropped was denied.
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