SHREWSBURY

A man has been arrested after allegedly posing as a taxi driver and then asking his victim to perform sexual acts before he would let her out of his vehicle.

The woman, who is in her 30s, had been out for the evening at a nightclub in Shrewsbury when, feeling woozy, she stepped outside and hailed what she thought was a cab.

Police say she got in, but halfway home the driver had said he would take her no further unless she gave in to his demands.

The woman said that the man had pulled up in a dark coloured car which looked ‘looked like a cab’ outside The Buttermarket on Howards Bank in the heart of the town at just after midnight.

She got in and gave him her address but one en route he stopped the vehicle and allegedly said she had to perform a sex act on him before he would take her to her home.

She said she refused and in the end the man, who was described as Asian, took her to her address.
Once there she rushed in to the house but did not make a note of the registration number of the car.
However, on reporting the incident to the police, officers were able to trace a car and the man was arrested and interviewed on Monday.

Inspector Ed Hancox from West Mercia Police said: “I can confirm that after swift inquiries made by the officer in the case,a male was arrested for this offence.

"We are not aware of any similar offences taking place in Shrewsbury over the past few weeks.

"We will be working with partners including Pubwatch, Shropshire Council, and Street Pastors to make sure such offences remain rare in Shrewsbury.”

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LONDON

A woman police officer who refused to pay a £24 taxi fare and fled after a 'social night out with colleagues' has been kicked out of the force.

PC Nicola Elston, 30, was 'jaded through drink' when she refused to pay the cab fare in Croydon, a Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) misconduct hearing was told.

The Lambeth-based officer was also accused of threatening and punching the taxi driver in the stomach but cleared after an earlier trial at Southwark Crown court.

She had initialky claimed that she was also innocent of theft but the jury convicted her after a three-day trial, allowing the MPS to conclude the disciplinary proceedings.

Summarising the charge at the tribunal, Assistant Commissioner Helen King said: ‘It was alleged that you were requested for payment by Mr Ali (the driver) and alighted the vehicle.

‘Mr Ali repeated his request for payment and you threatened to punch him.

‘He alleged that you punched him and he saw you enter an address. You were arrested later that same night.’

In a statement, Elston said: ‘I apologise for this matter and, in hindsight, I should have dealt with it in a different manner.

‘I accept that it is hard to continue to employ me, especially if I was asked to give evidence in court and would have to declare any convictions.’

The hearing was told that Elston, who was working for the Missing Persons Unit in Brixton while placed under restrictions, had drunk ‘a considerable amount of alcohol’.

She claimed that she had the correct amount for the fare and had left it in the cab.
‘I said that I left it there when the driver started shouting at me,’ Elston said.

‘I didn’t make the driver drive round the corner, he stopped about 10, 15 metres away [from the address].’

Sergeant Michael Kirk, for the Metropolitan Police, said: ‘On 27 June 2015, PC Elston returned home after a social evening with colleagues.
‘The price had been agreed in advance. The cab driver requested money owed to him and PC Elston refused to pay. Eventually, he called the police.

‘When police knocked at the address she had entered, PC Elston didn’t answer the door. She was later arrested.’

The Lambeth-based officer was also accused of threatening and punching the taxi driver in the stomach but cleared after an earlier trial at Southwark Crown court.

Sergeant James Southgate, representing Elston, said: ‘She does agree that her conduct amounts to gross misconduct and she is embarrassed by the fact that it has brought embarrassment on the Metropolitan Police.

‘She believed what she was doing was correct at the time, although jaded through drink.

‘Prior to joining the police, PC Elston went to Anglia Ruskin University where she studied for a BSc in forensic biology.

‘She immediately applied for the MPS and, while waiting to start, worked for an insurance company.
Elston (pictured) admitted her actions constituted gross misconduct. She was dismissed without notice.

‘Since the incident, she has carried on attending work and working hard in the Missing Persons Unit.

‘I don’t wish to go over the trial and re-examine evidence, but I must mention some relevant points. She still disagrees with the outcome of the trial.

‘She left the money in the cab as the driver became threatening.

‘She told me if she is allowed to continue she would want to get the Gangs Unit and Missing Persons and CSE Units to work together.’

Handing down the decision, AC Helen King said: ‘PC Elston has provided strong evidence from colleagues and supervisors that she is a capable, courageous and hard-working officer.

‘This was not planned in any way. There is no suggestion that she intended to abuse her position
‘She was placed on restrictions and, to her credit, remained in the workplace and also to her credit retains the support of the borough commander.

‘However, I have to consider very carefully the aggravating features and what London rightfully expects of a Metropolitan Police officer.
‘She didn’t accept responsibility for her actions in pleading guilty and was subsequently found guilty by a jury [of theft].

‘She gave evidence that made allegations against the taxi driver. PC Elston has continued to push blame onto others.

‘Officers recognise that convictions represent significant barrier to remaining as a police officer.
‘I have come to the conclusion that the only appropriate outcome is dismissal without notice.’
Elston admitted her actions constituted gross misconduct. She was dismissed without notice.

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STOKE

Taxi driver Sajid Hussain was caught dealing drugs – from his cab.

The 38-year-old transported more than £2,100 of cannabis hidden in a rucksack across the city.
Now the defendant, of Eastwood Place, Hanley, has had his taxi licence revoked.

Stafford Crown Court heard the father-of-three had agreed to transport the drugs in exchange for a £60 discount on his cannabis bill.

Caroline Morris, prosecuting, said a police officer approached Hussain’s Volkswagen Passat in Tunstall at around 9.15pm on January 24.

She said: “He drove away at speed and was pursued for about 300 yards when the car turned in to a cul-de-sac. The defendant tried to get out and was detained.”

Police searched Hussain and found bags of cannabis in his coat pockets.

Officers also uncovered a rucksack containing nine bags of cannabis, including skunk, with a total value of £2,140, in the car.

Mrs Morris said: “In his interview he made ‘no comment’.”

Hussain pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis with intent to supply.

Anis Ali, mitigating, said: “He’s a married man with three children.

“He is a habitual cannabis user of 20 years. He has made real efforts to address that addiction and since January he has abstained. He is ashamed and regrets what he’s done and is apologetic.”

Recorder William Edis handed the defendant a six-month jail term, suspended for two years, with 120 hours unpaid work.

He said: “This was serious wrongdoing – but was isolated and a true one-off. You took part as a distributor. You played a significant role and you did so voluntarily and for a reward.

“For a small sum of £40 to £60 knocked off your bill you agreed to take it from your dealer to someone else. Some was for your own use and you were transporting the rest.”

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NORTH CAROLINA


Independent taxi owners and drivers who have survived the arrival of ride-sharing apps such as Uber and Lyft say a surprise increase in their insurance requirements by the state could push many of them out of business.

Gov. Roy Cooper signed the new requirements into law in late July, doubling the amount of liability insurance for property and as much as quintupling the insurance for bodily injury or death. Owners of cabs must carry the new insurance starting Oct. 1.

Driver Imad Faik of Raleigh manages nine taxis for two different companies and says the new requirements will more than double the insurance costs per vehicle to nearly $400 a month. “I think this is horrible,” he said.

Faik was one of about 75 taxi owners and drivers who met with city taxi regulators at a police substation in West Raleigh on Tuesday morning. The meeting, held each year to talk about new rules and regulations, was consumed with concern over what the new insurance requirements will mean for an industry already reeling from competition from ride-sharing companies, who don’t face the same regulations.

Owners and drivers say they didn’t learn about the new insurance requirements until recent weeks. City taxi inspector Lorenzo Milliam said he first heard about them through an anonymous phone call on Sept. 6 and began emailing owners.

Milliam said even the insurance companies weren’t aware of them. He told the crowd that he could do nothing but enforce the new requirements. “If you have concerns about it, contact your elected officials,” he said.

The elected officials who are likely to hear from the cab owners first will be members of the Raleigh City Council, which sets the rates taxis can charge.

“If they’re going to increase the insurance like this, why would they not increase the rate on the meter?” Faik said. “It’s just not fair.”

There are already far fewer cabs on the road in Raleigh than there were a few years ago. In 2013, the year the General Assembly blocked cities and counties from regulating Uber and Lyft, there were 745 permitted taxis in the city operated by 112 companies, according to city records. By this spring, there were only 342 taxis, run by 65 companies.

Owners and drivers are particularly angry that the legislature would increase the insurance requirements without their knowledge. Senate Majority Leader Harry Brown, an auto dealer in Jacksonville, introduced the requirements as an amendment to an unrelated House bill on the floor of the Senate in late June, and within two days it had passed both chambers and was on its way to the governor.

“We had no imput, no knowledge,” says Lee Churchill, who has driven a taxi in Raleigh since 1974. “The legislature didn’t notify anybody, not even the cab inspectors.”

Brown says he wrote the amendment himself after researching the requirements, which he says had not been updated since the 1970s. The old liability requirements were the same as the minimum required for any motorist in North Carolina: $30,000 for bodily injury or death; $60,000 for bodily injury or death of two or more people; and $25,000 for property. The new requirements for cabs of $100,000, $300,000 and $50,000 are in line with what many drivers carry, Brown said.
“You would think that someone having a vehicle for hire should have higher coverage than an average citizen out there,” he said. “I didn’t have a single legislator say they didn’t think that was more than fair.”

Before Tuesday’s meeting, Churchill handed out copies of the bill along with a list of 13 insurance companies and their phones numbers to help owners and drivers research rates. Alan Wilson, who has been driving a taxi in Raleigh for a decade, said he has provided some paperwork to his insurance company and is awaiting a quote.

“I had a large student base; they all left me for Uber,” Wilson said. “This might put me out.”

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