In an alleged homophobic assault in the US state of New York, an Uber driver verbally attacked a gay married couple before dragging one of them along a busy street with his car.

Husbands Taray Carey and Alex Majkowski were sharing a taxi with a friend. When the couple exchanged hugs, they allege it enraged the driver, who immediately became verbally abusive. After many gay slurs were used, Carey asked what the problem was. The Uber driver told him “in his country we would be beheaded and left for dead.”

Continuing the rant, the taxi stopped at a red light, where the trio took the opportunity to leave the car. Carey and the couple’s friend exited, but while Majkowski was still inside, the car took off. Carey was still only part way out of the car at the time. He told news station WNBC: “He floored it and gunned forward, dragging me half a block down East 4th Street.”

While Carey clung on to the taxi, his husband in the back pleaded with the driver “I said: ‘Let me out, let me out, let me out,’ just over and over until he stopped.”

The couple called the police but allege the authorities would not treat it as a hate crime. Carey said: “I was very emotional and I asked can you put out some information so nobody else is hurt tonight.” He continued that the police were unhelpful, attributing blame to the couple.

The police deny the claim, saying body cam footage would back them up. The incident report labelled the event as a vehicle leaving the scene of an accident.

While Uber have removed the driver from their app following the alleged incident, the Taxi and Limousine Commission say his licence is still active. Uber followed: “What’s been reported is very concerning to us and Uber does not tolerate any form of discrimination.”