Video of racist remarks to Lyft driver outside Pa. bar goes viral, police investigating

A Lyft driver’s video of passengers making racist comments and being kicked out of the car in the Lehigh Valley is going viral as local police confirm they are investigating the incident.

The driver, James Bode, posted the video on his personal Facebook page late Friday night of the incident earlier that night outside Fossil’s Last Stand on Race Street in Catasauqua.

In the post, Bode said the ride was for “Jackie;” borough police confirmed Jackie Harford, who owns Fossil’s, is in the video with her boyfriend, who was not identified.

The black-and-white video, just over a minute long, starts with Bode waiting in his car with music playing as Harford gets in the backseat. He asks if the ride is for “Jackie” and she confirms it is.

“You’re like a white guy,” Harford says as she gets into the car on the rear passenger side.

“What’s that?” Bode asks.

“Are you, like, a white guy?” asks Harford, who is carrying a bag and other items.

There’s a pause before Bode says, “Excuse me?” and Harford laughs before saying, “Like, a normal guy. Like you speak English.”

Harford apologizes and pats Bode’s arm as he tells her to get out of the car. Bode tells Harford what she said was inappropriate.

“If somebody was not white, sitting in this seat, what would be the difference?” Bode asked.

The car’s rear passenger door is still open, and a man, whom police said is Harford’s boyfriend, arrives at the side of the car. Bode repeats some of the conversation to the man and says he won’t be taking the ride.

“I’m gonna punch you in the (expletive) face,” the boyfriend tells Bode. The boyfriend and Bode go back and forth as Harford gets out of the car.

Bode calls the couple “racist (expletive),” which is when the boyfriend calls him an “(n-word) lover.” The boyfriend curses again before slamming the car door shut.

The boyfriend tells Bode to leave, and Bode says he’s calling the police.

“It’s all on camera. It’s all on camera,” Bode says as a voice off-camera says, “Big deal!”

Calls made to Fossil’s were not answered. A website for the business and a Facebook page were not active as of Monday.

By Monday morning, Bode’s Facebook video on his page had more than 3,000 comments, and almost as many shares. One version of the video shared on Twitter has more than 8 million views.

Catasauqua police Chief Douglas Kish said Bode made a complaint about the incident at 10:27 p.m. Friday.

The incident is under investigation and no charges have been filed, the chief said. Kish expects the investigation to be completed later this week.

Fossil’s owners have owned the bar for quite some time, Kish said, and also own the New Tripoli Hotel in Lynn Township.

Fossil’s at 429 Race St. is owned by Jeffrey John Russ LLC, according to Lehigh County property records. The LLC has owned it since 2007. Ruthless Hotel LLC is listed as the owner of the New Tripoli Hotel.

Following the release of the video, Fossil’s pages on review sites were bombarded with bad reviews and one-star ratings. The unclaimed Yelp page for Fossil’s had 2,762 reviews as of Monday morning.

Efforts to reach Bode were unsuccessful. In a post early Monday morning, Bode said since the video was posted people were reaching out and showing him support.

“But this is the way it should be everywhere, every time. I shouldn’t be ‘the guy’ who did it or said it … we should all be that person. Speak up if you’re uncomfortable with it because it makes them uncomfortable, as they should be,” Bode wrote.

Lyft commented on Twitter, saying they were grateful Bode “for instantly shutting down this hate and upholding our no tolerance anti-discrimination policies. We’re looking into these riders and are in touch with James to show our thanks.”