Thugs targeting taxi drivers in Atlanta again

By Steve Visser

Nov 6, 2010

A bandit armed with an assault rifle is targeting taxi drivers in Atlanta with such aggression that police fear the crime may escalate to murder

The man has confronted at least three cabbies with an assault rifle, and on at least two occasions that robber has shattered the taxi driver's side window with the gun barrel. Atlanta police are targeting four taxi robberies and two attempted robberies between Oct. 17 and 24.

So far nobody has been shot or killed, Police Chief George Turner said Friday. Police are asking the public for help in identifying the robber or robbers -- the police aren't sure whether all the robberies are the work of the same man or a particular street gang -- and CrimeStoppers is bumping its reward for information to $3,000 from the standard reward of $2,000.

"We're dealing with dangerous people who are terrorizing and preying on the hardworking cabdrivers of our city," Turner said at a news conference. "We need to get some additional analysis on them."

The problem for investigators is robberies often occur after midnight and there are no witnesses other than the criminals and the driver. In the recent rash of robberies, at least two cases did not fit the pattern of a white car cutting off a cab and a black male emerging with an assault rifle. Turner said a white sedan, possibly a Chevrolet, was used in two robberies. A white Dodge Charger was used in two others.

Metro Atlanta saw a spate of slain cabbies a few years ago. The death toll has not been as high in the past two years, but there have been killings. The profession is so dangerous that there is a taxi website that memorializes slain drivers.

The memorial is incomplete in it relies on news stories. Its most recent listings for metro Atlanta are Stephen Anim, 2009, Atlanta; Fikar Menje, 2008, DeKalb County; Christopher Simmons, 2007, Cobb County; Dane Grobeman, 2007, DeKalb; and Steve Guarini, 2007, Atlanta. The list shows three metro Atlanta cabbies being killed in 2006, two in 2005, one in 2004 and three in 2003 and so on.

At least 19 cabbies have been killed in metro Atlanta since 2000, according to the website, Taxi-Library.org, that promotes cabdriver safety. Criminals routinely target cabbies for robberies because they carry cash, work alone and can be directed to isolated areas. Taxi drivers are 60 times more likely than other workers to be killed while on the job, according to a 2000 report by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

The Atlanta City Council has considered but never passed a law requiring cab companies to install in the taxis either security cameras or a protective barrier between the driver and passenger. Malachi Hull pushed for a law when he was director of the Police Department's Bureau of Taxi Cabs and Vehicles for Hire because cameras have been shown to make the profession safer in other cities. But some cabdrivers -- who are often independent contractors -- and taxi-company owners opposed the law as too costly. Atlanta Checkered Cab, however, spent $150,000 to install the cameras to make drivers safer.

Turner said Hull has resigned and that a new director will work collaboratively with cab companies and drivers to make the business safer. Turner said he hopes to form a cab safety committee to find a compromise that both the police and the cab companies can support.

"Any additional expense has always been met by the taxicab companies with pushback," Turner said.

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Steve Visser

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Thugs targeting taxi drivers in Atlanta again

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