Memphis Police Officer Accused of Kidnap, Rape While Working As Lyft Driver
A Tennessee police officer was charged with rape and aggravated kidnapping on Thursday over an alleged incident that occurred while he was working a second job as a driver for the rideshare service Lyft.
Memphis officer Travis Pride, 31, who was off duty at the time of the alleged incident, was also relieved of his duties on Thursday.
In a statement on Facebook, the Memphis Police Department said that while working as a Lyft driver on Wednesday, Pride picked up a woman and drove her to an apartment that was not hers.
According to an arrest affidavit obtained by the Daily Memphian, the woman refused to leave the car, but was pulled from the vehicle by Pride and forced into an apartment.
The woman said that she did not run as "she was afraid for her life" and scared what Pride would do if she did not cooperate with him.
Once inside the apartment, Pride allegedly sexually assaulted the woman and then drove her to her residence. The woman then called the police and used a sexual assault kit at a local police station, according to the affidavit.
Pride was identified by Sex Crimes investigators shortly after by using information from the Lyft app. He was quickly located and transported to Memphis' Sex Crimes Bureau.
The woman then identified Pride from a six-person photo lineup, after which he was charged and relieved of his duty pending the outcome of an investigation.
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The department said that Pride was off duty at the time of the alleged incident and confirmed that it had not authorized him to work a separate job outside of his employment as an officer.
"During the course of this investigation, evidence showed that Travis Pride reportedly acted outside of the law and was arrested and charged for a heinous crime," said Police Director James Ryall in a statement.
Pride had been an officer with the Memphis Police Department since July 2018 and was assigned to the Appling Farms Station.
He was released from Shelby County Jail on Thursday on a $150,000 conditional bond that states that he cannot have any contact or communication with the victim, according to the affidavit.
The department said that the investigation is ongoing. Newsweek has contacted the Memphis Police Department and Lyft for comment.
