Was taxi ‘getaway’ driver victim of criminals and police?

Did you catch the news story about the Beck cab driver who was charged by police in connection with a Barrie home invasion?

The driver apparently was being used as an unwitting getaway driver. After the robbery the alleged robbers got back into the cab and started screaming at the driver to get away quickly, scaring the stuffing out of him.

In response to the demands of the intimidating passengers, the cab driver allegedly drove dangerously, running a red light.

The driver told me he was advised by Duty Counsel lawyers at two police stations not to volunteer information when questioned by police.

So he gets charged.

Let’s look at it from his side and the police side of the equation.

From the driver side, I ask: what was he, or any cab driver, supposed to do in this situation? Was he trained how to react? What do police tell other victims in similar situations to do?

The answers to these three questions are: a) for his own safety, do what the criminals tell you to do, b) cab drivers are trained how to react, both in cab school and in refresher courses, and c) see answer “a).”

What are rape victims, or storeowners, or other people in banks being robbed told by police? Simple, don’t resist, do what they are told to do, gather as much information about the bad guy(s) as possible, and do what it takes to survive.

On a superficial level, I suspect we are all tempted to think this standard advice doesn’t apply to taxicab drivers, at least in the minds of some police.

(As an aside, I’ve been heartened to also read about victims fighting back, refusing to be passive sheep lead to the slaughter, and am cheered by those accounts.)

So now, for doing what he and other victims of crime are told to do by police, the cab driver gets charged. He must go though the stress of a serious driving charge, thousands of dollars have to be spent on legal fees and the courts’ time is (hopefully) wasted. That’s one way of looking at it.

On the other hand, what are police investigators supposed to think and do in this situation?

Police have multiple independent witnesses who saw a taxi allegedly driving, let’s just say, erratically, very badly and/or dangerously on city streets.

They look at the photos from inside the cab and see no evidence of weapons or physical assault, according to a Barrie police spokesperson.

They know a crime has been committed in a residence.

They have caught the two alleged perpetrators.

But the big question mark in police minds has to be the role of the driver of the getaway vehicle in this scenario. That person is not giving his side of the story, keeping his mouth shut, as is his absolute right and on the advice of two lawyers.

What are police supposed to do or think in this situation? They simply don’t have the information needed to make an intelligent decision.

One could argue that the police are well advised to lay the charge and let the courts sort it out. It’s a bit of a conundrum.

As a non-lawyer myself, I’m tempted to think the driver was given bad legal advice. But the fact that two lawyers gave the driver the same advice probably means they know things I don’t. First among these is that after hearing the driver’s story in private, they feared that he would incriminate himself and leave himself open to even more serious charges if he presented his version of events.

I’ve read about other instances where criminals have used cab drivers as unwitting accomplices. I will undoubtedly read about more in the future. In most of these cases the hapless driver is not charged, as most police have more than a lick of common sense and decency. But if the drivers were immediately open and forthright during initial investigations, that may well have influenced police decisions not to lay charges against them.

The driver will be in Barrie on January 30 for fingerprinting and to get police photos taken. Then, later that day, his first appearance before the Barrie courts is scheduled. It is unknown if the driver will also be present at the hearing – I suspect his lawyer will have good advice on this question.

At this point, I sincerely hope some Crown Attorney in Barrie hears the driver’s story, uses his brains and quickly decides not to prosecute. I’m 100 percent on the driver’s side in this situation, based on what I have learned so far.

At the same time, I am not going to immediately jump to the conclusion that Barrie police should not have charged the driver – not when they were operating largely in the dark by not having his version of events because he was exercising his constitutional rights on the basis of qualified legal advice.

I do congratulate Beck Taxi for helping police catch the alleged criminals. I also congratulate and thank Beck for immediately stepping in and hiring a lawyer to represent the driver. It was a really decent thing for them to do.

I also hope Municipal Licensing and Standards takes the whole picture into account when this driver’s license comes up for renewal. A Dangerous Driving charge in itself, regardless of any court decision, is usually enough to trigger an automatic non-renewal under Toronto’s Licensing Threshold system. In my opinion this should never happen if the accused is found Not Guilty or the charges are dropped.

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Was taxi ‘getaway’ driver victim of criminals and police?

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