What was supposed to be a routine Lyft trip out of a downtown Salt Lake City bar on Feb. 1 ended with a rider calling police and a driver in handcuffs.
A rideshare driver who is a certified graduate of Utah’s police academy was arrested Wednesday and booked into the Salt Lake County Metro Jail on suspicion of forcible sexual abuse, according to police records. The woman who ordered the ride told investigators the driver forced her to touch him during the trip and later described the contact as “gross” and “nasty.”
Investigators identified the driver as 31-year-old Alex Bagdat Outsen, who was taken into custody on an investigation of forcible sexual abuse, as reported by KSL. A police booking affidavit quoted by the outlet states that Outsen asked the rider for her phone number, entered it into his phone and then “took both of the victim’s hands” and forced her to touch him over his clothing.
What POST certification means
Peace Officer Standards and Training, commonly called POST, oversees police certification and basic training for law enforcement officers across Utah. According to Utah POST, the bureau also runs systems for agencies to report officer misconduct and for POST to investigate issues that could affect an officer’s certification.
Investigators’ account
Detectives say Outsen is a registered Lyft driver and the registered owner of the vehicle involved in the February trip. They also note that a second woman separately reported similar inappropriate behavior in September, according to KSL. In that report, the affidavit says, the rider described the driver reaching behind his seat and trying to touch her, and investigators wrote that the pattern of behavior “lends credibility” to the first victim’s account.
Rideshare safety and reporting
Lyft says it conducts background checks on drivers and offers in-ride safety tools such as Location Sharing, audio recording and a Safety Hub that allows riders to report incidents or reach support. Lyft also states that drivers who violate the company’s community guidelines can be removed from the platform…