Lyft has ‘Brandon’s blood on their hands,’ says mother of driver teens killed in 2022

DAYTON — The Dayton Branch NAACP is working to ensure the Lyft company is held to account in the killing of one of its drivers, Brandon Cooper, who was carjacked and shot in Dayton in January 2022.

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“Brandon Cooper was a revenue generator for Lyft,” local NAACP President Derrick Foward told News Center 7′s Mike Campbell on Thursday. “They know who their drivers are. . . . Lyft needs to understand that they are going to be held accountable.”

The Beavercreek man was shot and killed by one of two passengers while they carjacked him. Both of those passengers, 17-year-old teenagers Da’Trayvon Mitchell and Tylan Peaks, pleaded guilty to murder and aggravated robbery in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court. At sentencing Wednesday, Mitchell was ordered to serve 25 years to life. Peaks, ordered to serve 27 years to life, was given more time because he also pleaded guilty to felonious assault, grand theft of a motor vehicle, and tampering with evidence.

Foward said the NAACP’s investigation into how Lyft handled the situation involving Cooper, for him, raised “a red flag.”

According to his timeline, “many hours passed” (more than 12 to 24 hours, he estimates) before Lyft notified any of the other drivers in the area about other carjacking incidents in Dayton that same night Cooper was killed.

“When I called Lyft, they didn’t even know that it had occurred, according to their security department,” Foward said.

He said the NAACP’s hope, in working with attorney Michael Wright, is that the San Francisco-based company will make reasonable compensation to the Cooper family before the civil trial, which as of Thursday is scheduled for sometime in September.

“We hope the Lyft company does the right thing,” Foward said. “The family is just asking Lyft to do right by (the Cooper families), by the customers and by people who use their services day in and day out.”

What Lyft offered the Cooper family was a slap in the face, said Foward, who did not divulge an amount. The games Lyft has played with the Cooper family are unwarranted, he said.

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Before speaking about the civil litigation, Foward addressed the fact that the Dayton community has been at a crossroads because of gun violence.

“I’m concerned about the high number of black Americans killing black Americans inside this community,” he said. “I’m calling on parents. . . you know your children. . . you know who has these guns. You know the individuals that are committing these crimes.”

As [Dayton] Mayor Jeffrey Mims Jr. and the NAACP roll out their plans, Foward said, “It’s all of our responsibility to reduce gun violence. Especially the ones who know who is committing these heinous crimes.”

When asked to react to Wednesday’s sentencing hearing, Cooper’s wife and mother said their families appreciated the apology Mitchell offered aloud in court.

“Hopefully, he’s on a path to redirecting his life,” Cooper’s wife, Brittney, said. But “we didn’t get that much of an apology” from Peaks -- “and it’s not appreciated.” The lack of remorse, she said, shows where his heart is.

Cooper’s mother, Michelle Cooper, offered this: “To the Mitchell family, I would like to say thank you for at least acknowledging that he was wrong. And I hope they stand by him while he’s in prison because he’s going to need that. I’m working on forgiving them. I’m not there yet.”

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As for Lyft, Michelle Cooper said, “They have Brandon’s blood on their hands. The only thing they didn’t do was pull the trigger. They are responsible.”

Foward said healing cannot begin until those responsible own up to what they have done.

“We ultimately hope healing does not have to start -- if we quit committing these acts of violence, especially on each other,” he said.

As local NAACP president, “I am not going to give anyone an out for killing someone,” he said, alluding to economic poverty that some give as a reason for violent gun crime in the black community.

“Challenges should be dealt with through putting laws on the books, through advocacy, through voting - not through killing one another,” Foward said. “That’s not how you deal with differences.”

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