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PostPosted: Thu Nov 01, 2018 6:13 pm 
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Joined: Wed May 16, 2012 6:33 am
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There's a dashcam video on the Post's website, but the two are obscured behind the vehicle during what seems like the worst of the violence.

Bristol taxi driver beaten and spat on outside UWE campus

https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bris ... at-2172193

Upset that police let his attacker go with a caution, Malik says officers are not taking reports from cabbies seriously

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Image: Bristol Post

A Bristol taxi driver subjected to a vile attack from a stranger outside a university campus has complained to police after officers let his assailant go with a caution, despite the entire assault being caught on CCTV.

Mr Malik, a 38-year-old family man from Bristol, was spat on, choked, punched, kicked and thrown to the floor during the horrific incident outside UWE Bower Ashton site in the south-west of the city.

Abusive and racist taunts were used by the man - who claimed to be a "professional fighter" - during the savage ambush which happened during the day.

The event was witnessed by a number of people, but also by Malik's own dash camera as well as the campus's security cameras.

But, when officers visited his home four days later they told him they had let his attacker go with no charge.

"I'm shocked really, I can't believe they have let him go when CCTV caught everything that happened," said Mr Malik.

He explained what took place that Friday, October 26, while at the hospital where he was undergoing more x-rays and tests since the beating.

"I got a call to UWE to pick some young people up and when I got there I parked slightly on the pavement leaving enough room for people to get passed," he said.

"A man in a car driving from the opposite direction began shouting at me as he passed telling me to get out of the way.

"After that I continued talking to my customers helping them get in the car, then he got out of his car and attacked me.

"He grabbed my throat and was shouting and swearing and being racially abusive. He kept saying he was a professional fighter then he spat on me.

"It seemed like he was trying tricks on me like he picked me up and threw me on the ground and he choked me and I went unconscious for a couple of seconds.

"I just tried to hold my hands over my face while he punched me and kicked me and then I managed to run away and get into my car," he said.

"All the while my customers had been trying to help me. I was just shocked, I rang the police while I was locked in my cab.

"When it was over he seemed to go inside the campus but he didn't seem like a student," Malik added.

Malik was taken to the hospital and has since had to have a number of lengthy hospital visits because doctors were concerned about his neck.

He has been advised to take a month off to rest after experiencing substantial bruising and losing some of the hearing in his ear.

Police later told him they had found and arrested the man who assaulted him a few hours after the incident, adding they had released him with a caution.

When officers visited him they explained their sergeant had decided his injuries were not serious enough to take any further action.

Police confirm they attended the incident and declined to comment further while they look into Mr Malik's complaints, although they said the case would be "robustly investigated".

The incident has had a profound effect on Malik, he said: "Part of me knew they weren't going to take me seriously. I was sat in my car on the phone to the call handler for around 20 minutes before a female officer showed up.

"Then after that, I didn't hear anything even though I kept calling them. Eventually, they came to my house four days after it happened and told me they had let him go with a caution, they never told me before that. Then they said my injuries weren't 'serious enough' for him to be charged.

"I'm just shocked really that they could let him go like that," he added.

"I have lost my faith in the Avon and Somerset police, I am so disappointed with the way they have handled things.

"Attacks on taxi drivers are increasing and it's very sad. We rarely used to hear about any but now it's all the time. I've even changed my shifts to daytime for safety because I have a family to look after and now it's happening in broad daylight.

"It's a joke and if the police carry on like this and don't start charging people even when they have the evidence, it will get worse."

A police spokesperson said: "We were called to reports of an assault on October 26 in Kennel Lodge Road between 12.10-12.30pm.

"A man arrested on suspicion of assault was given a police caution.

"We are aware the victim has made a formal complaint and this will be robustly investigated.

"It would be inappropriate for us to comment further."

The identity of the men in the video has been obscured for legal reasons.


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PostPosted: Fri Nov 02, 2018 12:38 am 
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Joined: Mon Jan 18, 2016 7:56 pm
Posts: 2553
NHS staff are rightly going to get more protection in the form of tougher sentencing of culprits,surely the powers to be owe the passenger transportation drivers the same protection instead of giving the culprits a slap on the wrist,but there again we all know the police say it is only a taxi or private hire driver.


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PostPosted: Fri Nov 02, 2018 11:57 pm 
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Joined: Wed Sep 03, 2003 7:30 pm
Posts: 57350
Location: 1066 Country
Delighted the driver has made a complaint.

And if he doesn't get any joy for the police then he needs to go to the IPCC.

If it had been a copper that was attacked I very much doubt the sergeant would have been so weak.

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