Taxi driver assaulted, robbed by three people

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This article was published 28/12/2024 (338 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The manager of a city cab company says one of its drivers is doing well despite being attacked and robbed, and the driver himself says he plans to head back to work in a couple of days.

In an interview with the Sun, Mr. Ride Taxi manager Shawn Arksey indicated that the driver is not seriously injured despite taking several punches to the head and face.

“The driver is doing OK. He took some punches, but hasn’t sustained anything more serious than that,” Arksey said Friday afternoon.

The driver himself indicated to the Sun that he was feeling a bit dizzy, and had a black eye from being punched, but didn’t think any medical treatment would be needed, except perhaps some rest.

He said he’s thankful that his injuries weren’t more severe. He also said that if everything goes well after a couple of days off, his plan is to resume driving.

According to an account issued by the Brandon Police Service via media release issued Friday, on Thursday just before 8:40 p.m. police responded to a home on the 1500 block of Third Street for a report of a physical altercation involving four individuals and a local taxi driver.

In their release, police say a resident of the home witnessed the incident and contacted them. According to the witness, the fight seemed to involve a taxi driver and his customers, and one suspect unsuccessfully tried to steal the taxi.

Police say the suspects took the driver’s jacket, however, which contained keys to his car and cash. They then ran, but the K-9 unit tracked them down at another nearby residence, and three of the four suspects were arrested.

A 16-year-old girl was found wearing the jacket, which still contained the vehicle keys and cash, police alleged. She was charged with robbery with violence, but released to her mother with a court date in February, the media release noted.

An 18-year-old woman was also arrested and searched and found with a pocket knife and alcohol, the release continued. She faces charges that include robbery with violence, possession of a weapon and the attempted theft of a motor vehicle. The woman was held until her court hearing on Friday morning.

Furthermore, a 23-year-old man was arrested and held in custody because he was heavily intoxicated. He was charged with one count of robbery with violence, and was expected to be released on Friday once sober. The man is scheduled to appear in court in February.

Police say they determined a fourth suspect wasn’t actually involved and was released without charges.

The BPS reported that everyone involved in the altercation had minor injuries, but nobody required medical attention.

Arksey and the driver provided further details of the attack for the Sun.

“My understanding of the events is that these passengers were trying to bring open alcohol into the cab. They were advised that they wouldn’t be allowed. They then tried to steal the driver’s cellphone and run off, but the driver managed to retain control of his cellphone, and then one of the guys struck him in the face. They took his jacket, his hoodie, his money, and the cab’s car keys were in there in his jacket as well,” said Arksey, who helped get Mr. Ride Taxi off the ground as an enterprise in 2022, alongside owner Girma Samuel.

Arksey said the company has ways of recording information about individual riders who misbehave, and that once they’re identified as a problem, its drivers will know not to serve them again.

“We do have customer profiles. So if something like that has occurred with someone, it is noted and they’re basically persona-non-grata. Unfortunately, there are technological ways of avoiding that kind of identification, so it’s not foolproof, but as long as we know the person is someone who might do those kinds of things, we at the dispatch office give our drivers the information so they can keep themselves safe,” he explained.

As for the driver who was robbed, he told the Sun what happened from his perspective.

“They told me they wanted to go to 1530 on Third Street, so I take them there. When we got there, I asked them how they want to pay, and they told me they will pay with debit,” recounted the driver, who asked to remain anonymous due to fear that he might be targeted again.

“The girl who was sitting in the front, she grabbed my phone. She tried to run away with my phone. She grabbed it, I grabbed it back, and I tried to get out from my car, but the guy who was sitting behind me pulled my hood and took my hoodie and jacket. I was trying to back up, like, to walk away from them, but they kept coming to me and I was just trying to defend myself.”

The driver said he doesn’t have a dashboard camera, but now plans to get one because of this incident.

» dstein@brandonsun.com

» X: @davidpstein_