An Uber driver was arrested on International Drive the evening of July 4 after being accused of refusing to allow a blind person's service dog to ride in his van.

  • Uber driver arrested after denying ride to blind man with service dog
  • Simon Pierre Andre Nau says he didn't know he could be arrested
  • Nau says he was concerned for his kids, who suffer from allergies

Simon Pierre Andre Nau, 60, of Kissimmee, was booked into Orange County Jail just before 1 a.m. Tuesday, charged with battery and failure to transport a blind person in the company of a seeing-eye dog.

Nau told us Wednesday the arrest report is one-sided.

According to an Orange County Sheriff's Office report, the rider, who was with a group of other blind people at Bahama Breeze on I-Drive, used the Uber app to summon a ride at about 10:30 p.m. on the Fourth of July.

When the driver, later identified as Nau, arrived, he told the man, "I don't take dogs."

“I didn’t expect to pick up people with dogs because in my mind I was thinking of my daughter who is allergic of dog hair,” Nau said Wednesday.

The rider told Nau that the animals in the group were service dogs and not pets. According to the arrest report, the rider said Nau told him, "I don't care."

With the van's door still open, and the man standing near the front passenger door, Nau started to pull away, the report said. The van's door hit the man on his left side. Fearing he'd be dragged, the rider said he swung at Nau while yelling for him to stop the van.

Nau, however, tells a different story.

He said that when he arrived, he opened the back door to let the dog in and then noticed that it was a large group. He said the group of riders was hostile toward him from the beginning. But when he saw several service animals, he became concerned there would be a lot of dog hair in his van and worried about his children, who are allergic to dog hair.

"I have kids, and all of them are allergic to dog hair," Nau said. "My daughter has asthma and is very allergic to dog hair — she has to go to hospital.”

Nau said the caller grabbed his shirt, beat him and hurt him. He only left after everyone was out of his van and at least 10 feet back. The driver stated he checked the Uber policy on the app after leaving the area and realized he is required to pick up people with service animals.

Nau said he turned around to pick up the group. When he arrived, the people told him the police were on the way, he said.

The officer told Nau he could be arrested for denying service to the person with the service dog. "I laughed. I did not know this," Nau said, before being arrested.

Uber has temporarily deactivated while it investigates. In a statement, the company said, “Driver-partners are expected to accommodate riders with service animals and comply with all accessibility laws. We’ve reached out to check on the rider's well-being and are grateful nobody was seriously injured.”

Florida law and the U.S. Americans with Disabilities Act protects those with disabilities who need a service dog from any discrimination by public accommodations. That includes transportation.