Taxi Driver Online

Total head-the-ball, but he picked on the wrong victims here, who are lawyers with the Crown Office in Scotland - roughly equivalent to the Crown Prosecution Service down south

Article isn't exactly a barrel of laughs, but for that reason


Banking analyst, 26, who launched brutal attack on two lawyers who got into a taxi he had booked is jailed for six months

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... onths.html

Bank analyst who carried out brutal attack on two lawyers jailed for six months
Connor Rogers set upon the two Crown Office lawyers after a night out in Perth
The men unintentionally got into a taxi that Rogers had already booked
Rogers, 26, punched, kicked and kneed the men during the violent attack

A banking analyst who carried out a brutal attack on two Crown Office lawyers because they got into his pre-booked taxi has been jailed for six months.

Connor Rogers, 26, knocked one of the prosecutors unconscious after they inadvertently got into a cab he had ordered to pick him up from a bar in Perth, Scotland, on June 2.

Perth Sheriff Court was told the Operations Analyst rained more than a dozen blows on the second lawyer during the sustained assault.

Rogers left the scene twice but returned to continue punching the victims in the head outside a Perth bar where they had been enjoying a night out.

In sentencing Rogers to six months jail, Sheriff Rory Bannerman said: 'This was a brutal, sustained and repeated attack on two entirely blameless and innocent members of the public.

'It was in an open public space and witnessed by innocent bystanders. You rained down blows on the first victim, five or six punches. One was kneeled on the ground, injured and entirely defenceless. You were unconcerned about the consequences.

'The second victim was attacked on three separate occasions. A minute of you deliberately returning to the scene of the assault twice, despite walking away twice.'

People attempted to stop Rogers and keep him from the victims, but Sheriff Bannerman said: 'You targeted that man with 13 to 14 punches, one knee to the face and one kick to the face.

'Almost all blows were to his head and you were apparently unconcerned about the consequences. You are extremely fortunate not to be in a higher court.' 

Rogers had an assault conviction from 2020 and had not 'taken the warning' after being sentenced to a community payback order.

Rogers, of Primrose Crescent, Perth, admitted assaulting the first man by punching him and knocking him down before repeatedly punching his head.

He also admitted injuring the second man by repeatedly punching and kicking him in the head in Glasgow Road, Perth, on June 2 this year.

Fiscal depute Sarah High told the court: 'A taxi pulled up and the two complainers got into the vehicle. It became apparent the taxi had been booked for the accused and the individuals he was with. As soon as that became apparent, the two men exited the taxi.

'The first complainer has little recollection, but recalls falling to the floor. He believes he was knocked unconscious, but when he came to he could see his friend bleeding from his face.

'The second victim recalls going to help and he got a blow to the face which caused a bleeding nose. There was a scuffle with the accused.'

A motorist who saw the initial attack got out of her car to help as Rogers walked away. She saw him return to hit the first man again as he kneeled in the road.

Both victims had to be taken to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee, where they were treated for concussion, cuts and bruising, before being released.

Rogers, defending himself in court, initially denied returning to the scene twice to continue the attacks, but changed his view after watching CCTV footage.

He said: 'I attacked him when he was on the ground. There were multiple punches but only one kick. It was a knee to the head. 

'After reviewing the footage I have realised there was an incidence where I had left then came back. I came back to engage again, which is not normal behaviour on my part.

'The reason the erratic behaviour happened that night has been a build-up of stuff that's been happening at home. A lot of stress led to it and the drink made it a lot worse.'


Image: Daily Mail

Well according to someone, it was actually all the fault of the lawyers, who aren't actually lawyers at all. And they kicked it all off, and the thug just happened to get the better of them


What their actual job is isn't clear, but the Sun's version even describes them as 'prosecutors'

Meanwhile, the Courier describes the victims as 'working for the Crown Office' and as 'court officials', so maybe they're not lawyers in the strict sense, but who knows

Anyway, the Courier's article is probably the one to read, and they've probably had a reporter on the ground there, so possibly the most accurate of them.

Not directly a trade thing, obviously, but it could just as easily have been the driver caught up in this. And this piece also mentions the word 'rank', while the above reads like it was a row about a pre-booked car elsewhere.

But if this is accurate then the perp pre-booked a car to pick him up at a rank, and the victims got in by mistake...


Bank worker jailed for ‘brutal and sustained’ assault on two court staff in Perth

A bank worker has been jailed for a “brutal and sustained” attack on two court officials in Perth.

Connor Rogers flew into a rage and battered both men following a mix-up at a Glasgow Road taxi rank.

The 26-year-old beat one man as he knelt on the road and went back to the second victim three times, delivering up to 14 blows to his face.

Rogers appeared at Perth Sheriff Court and admitted the double assault on June 2, when his two victims – who both work for the Crown Office in Tayside – were on a night out.

He initially denied returning to the second victim but backtracked after watching CCTV footage.

“I left and came back to engage again,” he conceded.

“That’s not normal behaviour on my part.”

Representing himself, he suggested the court could send him on an anger management course but Sheriff Rory Bannerman told him there was no alternative to prison.

Unheeded warning

“This was a brutal, sustained and repeated attack upon two entirely blameless members of the public,” the sheriff said.

“As you rained down blows to the first victim five or six times while he knelt on the ground, it was clear you were unconcerned about the potential consequences.”

He said: “The second victim was assaulted on three separate occasions.

“You returned to him twice and delivered 13 to 14 punches as well as a knee to the face.

“You are extremely fortunate that this case is not calling at a higher court.”

The sheriff noted Rogers received a community sentence for a previous assault.

“It seems that that particular warning went unheeded.

“I conclude there is no alternative to custody and you must be sent to prison for this matter.”

Rogers, of Primrose Crescent, Perth, was jailed for six months.

Blows to the face

Fiscal depute Sarah High told the court: “At around 10pm, the two complainers were waiting for a taxi on Glasgow Road.

“A short time later, a taxi pulled up and they got into the vehicle.

“As they did so, they became aware of a group of men walking towards the taxi rank.”

She said Rogers approached the cab and explained he had pre-booked it.

“As soon as this became apparent, the two complainers exited the vehicle.

“The first complainer has little recollection of what occurred next but remembered falling to the floor.

“He believes he was knocked unconscious and when he came to, he saw the second complainer bleeding from the face.”

Injuries

The prosecutor said the second victim heard “raised voices” from his colleague’s side of the taxi.

“He walked round and saw the first complainer lying on the road,” Ms High told the court.

“As he went to help, he became aware of blows to his face. His nose was bleeding.

“He became involved in a scuffle with the accused.

“It ended with the accused walking away north along Glasgow Road.”

The fiscal depute said a passing motorist saw the first complainer kneeling on the carriageway while Rogers repeatedly punched the other man.

“The driver stopped to assist and conveyed the second complainer to Ninewells Hospital for treatment.

“He had concussion and suffered cuts to both eyes, his lips and his forehead.”

Ms High said police were contacted and traced the first complainer.

“He also attended at Ninewells and was diagnosed with concussion,” the fiscal depute said.

“He had suffered bruising behind both ears.”

Caught on camera

The prosecutor said CCTV “clearly” showed Rogers punching the first victim to the face, causing him to fall back onto road.

He continued to punch him, while the second complainer and the accused’s friend tried to separate them.

“The accused then punched the second complainer repeatedly to the face, before walking away,” said Ms High.

“He took off his jacket and returned to the complainer and punched him once before kicking him to the face.

“He then repeatedly punched him to the face and walked away, before returning a third time and punching him repeatedly again to the face.”

Rogers, an operations analyst for a banking firm, admitted a “flurry” of punches to both men.

“The reason why this erratic behaviour happened was a build up of stuff that happened at home,” he said.

“That has been sorted out now, and I’m not going out drinking any more.”

how can you get into a vehicle by accident I would allege they clearly saw the vehicle and intentionally got in without even considering whether it was booked or not

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

The thug admitted the assaults, which part of that did the idiots in the comments section not understand?

He also returned to have another go at one of the victims. Only an out-and-out thug would do that.

He got what he deserved, and all because he believed someone took his cab. FFS.

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IDFIMH

Only the thickest of operators would send a cab/PH to pick up a prebooked job at a taxi rank.

Talk about asking for aggro.

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IDFIMH

Well if a taxi pulls up at a rank then it would be fair to assume, if you were waiting first in the queue, that you could get in.

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IDFIMH

Can only agree with Sussex here - they're waiting at a taxi rank, a cab rolls up, so they get in, surprise, surprise.

Only it was pre-booked by someone else, who sounds like he wasn't even there when the cab rolled up - the fiscal depute said: “As they [got into the taxi], they became aware of a group of men walking towards the taxi rank.”

And even if it hadn't been a rank scenario, quite easy for people waiting for pre-booked cars to get them mixed-up - the lawyers may have thought they were the only people waiting on a car, so when one arrives they just get in, unaware that someone else has booked one.

Of course, it may be that their faculties were, er, blurred due to alcohol, but that doesn't really mean they intentionally got into someone else's cab.

As for Sussex's point about sending cars to pick-up at a rank, it may have been a corporate booking, or whatever, and although the firm might not have been keen, on the other hand they perhaps felt compelled to do the job.

And it may have been partly the driver's fault for pulling onto the rank, when the agreed pick-up wasn't actually on the rank, which was why the party seemed to approach the rank from elsewhere. On the other hand, it may not have been easy for the driver to stop anywhere else, and the precise booking instruction was possibly too vague.

Another potentially confusing factor is that in Perth it's mixed offices and both HC/PH using predominantly saloons, so who knows what kind of car actually rolled up. And, even in places with black cabs, a 'taxi' could either be HC or PH, even in the courtroom

Of course, it may have been that they did get into a car they knew fine wasn't theirs, but I doubt that was a significant factor in the case overall. So we just have to accept that they got into the cab unintentionally knowing it had been booked, as the court obviously did.

you both misinterpreted my post I was poking fun at the wording of the article

as a hackney driver for over 30 years i think I know how a rank works

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

Yes, that's what I thought as well

You replied:


So, yes, to that extent I got your point about the daft wording re 'unintentionally' getting into the vehicle.

However, you also added this:


Which is a different point, but a plausible one in theory. But without any concrete evidence, it's an implausible one in practice, as an HCD of 30 years experience should know