Taxi Driver Online

Cleared - cabbie who locked cops in taxi

A TAXI driver who locked two police officers in his cab and took them to a police station in a dispute over a fare is considering legal action against the police after he was cleared of false imprisonment.

Cabbie Cleveland Williams, 65, locked the pair in his car and drove to a police station when they refused to pay what he said they owed. But when they arrived it was Mr Williams who was arrested and charged with false imprisonment.

Yesterday he was cleared at Bolton Crown Court when the prosecution offered no evidence. Now he is planning legal action after his ordeal. Mr Williams claimed he agreed a "time-and-a-half" rate to take Pc Helen Dean and her partner Det Con Timothy McDermott home to Holcombe Brook, Bury, after a night out in Manchester. The meter showed £25.20 and the couple gave him £30.

But an argument erupted as Mr Williams, of Trafford, said they owed him "at least £34" because of the time-and-a-half rate. He locked the doors and drove to Bury Police Station, where Pc Dean claimed he assaulted her.

Mr Williams, a taxi driver for 18 years, was later arrested and charged with false imprisonment. It was alleged in court that Pc Dean racially abused Mr Williams but she strongly denied the allegations under cross-examination. Her partner also denied she had said anything racial to him.

Now police chiefs have launched an internal investigation after Mr Williams was acquitted of all charges at Bolton crown court yesterday on the second day of his trial.

The Crown Prosecution Service offered no evidence and said it was "not in the public interest" to continue with the prosecution. They admitted it is "common practice" for taxi drivers to take customers to police stations if they refuse to pay.

Mr Williams has instructed his legal team to take the matter further. He said outside court: "This case should not have gone ahead." His solicitor, David Woodward, added: "We are considering legal action against both Greater Manchester Police and Lancashire Constabulary. This is not the end of the matter."

Lancashire Constabulary said the officers involved were not suspended. In a statement, the force said a senior officer from its professional standards department had monitored the court proceedings. "After due consideration of the circumstances, we will make a decision as to whether any further action is necessary," said a spokesman.

Mr Williams, who suffers from arthritis and walks with a stick, picked up Mr McDermott, a football intelligence officer based at Blackburn, and Ms Dean, in Deansgate, Manchester last August. The couple - both Lancashire Constabulary officers - were off-duty and had been for a meal and drink. They denied being drunk.

Outside court, Mr Williams said he was happy with the verdict. He said: "This highlights the problems that taxi drivers face in their day-to-day life. I did not know they were police officers and it should not have mattered anyway. "I explained to them how much it was from Manchester to their home and gave them an example. We have to tell the passenger how much before we set off. "The case should not have been brought in the first place but obviously I am glad that I have been found not guilty."

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[quote="Alex"]Cleared - cabbie who locked cops in taxi
[size=18] One up for the trade[/size]

Railway Child,behave yourself,the boys in blue look after us and our families.
They are a lovely bunch of ladies and gentlemen,whose sole intention is to look after the interests of the public.
Shame on you young man,will have to come to Perth Station,and whip the living day lights out of you.
Or maybe just whip your bottie,with my hair brush,while I am wearing sussies and a policewoman,s hat.

Yours P.W.C. Chastity Forsyth.

Hmmm...

I'm confused as to why his meter was only reading £22.50 and he wanted £34????

EXTRAS!

I suspect he was dropping outside of his area, thus he is able to charge what he likes with prior agreement.

It's a common practice in the Northwest to charge extra for going out of the Licensed Area. The extra charge is to compensate for the dead mileage accrued by not being able to ply for hire until returning to your own licensed area.

Most people just charge clock and a third for an out of area Job. In the case of Mr Williams he charged clock and half. Mr Williams is well known to the long serving Manchester Cab Trade and before anyone jumps to his defence I would like to say that many Taxi drivers in Manchester would love to see the back of him.

He first came on the Manchester scene back in the late 1980's when he drove a Macclesfield cab, In fact i'm not sure if it was private hire or public hire, I think it was private hire.

He used to come into Manchester city centre and blatently ply for hire, he has had more run-ins with Manchestrer Cab drivers than probably anyone else in the industry. Several Manchester Taxi Drivers have ended up in court over Mr Willimas and his illegally plying for hire but he always seems to come up smelling of roses.

In the early nineties I understand a relative of his bought plate 218, he has drove that vehicle ever since. I don't know if he now owns the Cab and plate himself but most here in Manchester couldn't give a f... about Mr Williams.

The verdict is good for the trade in respect that it goes some way in vindicating the actions of a Cab driver when confronted with the prospect of an illegal act. However, as far as the law goes in this case, it is debatable if an illegal act had indeed been commited.

Most Taxi drivers would have quoted a fixed price and got the money up front before the journey commenced. That way there are very few complications, unless of course the stated destination turned out to be substantially different than the one agreed upon.

I wonder how much time Mr Williams lost off the road through his stupid insistance of an extra four pounds?

Best wishes

John Davies.

Hang on a minute John,
first of all if you say Mr Williams is a t***, hes a t***

now lets look at this case without the personality of the driver!

I have had occasion to cross swords with off duty policemen, and off duty they are no different from anybody else, though some think they are, and take bloody liberties.

nowthen, they are not entitled to special service, special prices, but deserve the due respect of all our customers.

not long ago I had a couple of right bitches in my cab, in the end I had to warn them that at the present time they were not police officers, and were not wearing uniform and had not shown me a warrent card, I was threatened, so I returned the compliment and said I would report them for harrasment.

at the destination I was thrown a £5 for a £6.50 fare and again threatened
I invited them to never call me again.

we should not have to put up with crap from officioldom who frankly are not working but on a night on the [edited by admin].

if we dont pay them enough to be able to pay for a service they should get a proper job!

I will not be intimidated by them, these 2 police officers I mention were nothing more than common thieves.

Geoff

I'm not defending policemen or non payers, I just outlined some details about Mr Williams that may bring a better understanding to the person doing the accusing.

I don't hold with ripping off punters, it gives the Trade a bad name. Certain people here in Manchester have been ripping off punters for a very long time. 30.00 for a 24.00 fare is not so unreasonable when you consider it takes no more than 25 minutes to travel the 13 or 14 miles to Holcombe Brook From Manchester.

Most drivers would have just charged the accepted norm of clock and third, which would have resulted in a fare of 32 pounds. If the guy can't swallow a couple of quid on a 30.00 out of area fare then he's a greedy [edited by admin].

The incident you mention about the police officers paying the incorrect fare on a metered hire which was undertaken within the local boundaries, is against the law. I'm surprised they did that.

I just wonder how many drivers who frequent this forum would go to the trouble of driving several miles to a police station with the prospect of spending several hours there making a statement etc, all for the privilige of four pounds. I learnt my lesson a long ago when it comes to time off the road through non payers.

Non payers are not going to go away, they are a fact of life, it is up to each individual to determine if the loss they have suffered is worth the time spent off the road stuck in a police station. For such a derisary sum I certainly wouldn't have taken the action Cleveland Williams took and neither would most of the Trade here in Manchester.

It proves he made the wrong decision by the amount of time he spent off the road. Did he get his four pounds in the end.......no he didn't.

So it wasn't very bright of him was it?

There was a case several years ago where a private hire driver was convicted of kidnapping two girls. The case centered around these girls not paying the fare.

The private hire driver took the girls back to the place where he had picked them up, however the girls were taken there against their will so the court ruled that he was guilty of Kidnapping.

That is why this Williams case was interesting. Unfortunately it proves nothing from a legal standpoint becuase in the end the prosecution threw in the towel.

So as it stands, locking someone in a cab and taking them somewhere they do not wish to go is still a kidnapping offence. The only relief from that charge is perhaps to inform them that you are making a citizens arrest and you will be driving them to the nearest police station.

If drivers don't follow that procedure they may find themselves on the wrong side of the law.

Best wishes

John Davies

I would have thought that if the gentleman had been in the trade for a while, he would have sussed that if you quote for out of town work, then you get the money up-front.

If you go via the meter, it may be different, but otherwise it's no dough, no go.

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IDFIMH

I'm almost 100% sure that the Hacks in Southport don't.

Why do they charge extra for travelling over the boundary (ie you saying dead milage) when I would guess that most jobs a hackney will do that stays within their boundary will almost result in them having to return to their busiest rank.

The Answer to your questions are quite simple. An Authority can only set fares for their own licensed area, a licence driver can only ply for hire within the boundaries off that area. When within the area a driver can freely ply for hire on the highways of the defined area. In theory that means A driver can pick up from point A and drop off at point B and immediately be available for hire from point B. At busy periods there are times when a driver will be consantly dropping off and picking up without a break.

Plying for hire within ones own area means that you have the opportunity to pick up members of the public. Once you leave your licenced area you don't have the opportunity to pick up passengers until you get back to your own area. Hence the dead mileage.

Here in Manchester we have what is called the Manchester act. It was enacted in the early 1980's. For the purposes of fare Boundaries it stipulates that the area for which the council will have no fare control shall commence four miles from the boundary of the licensed area.

That means I am obliged to travel four miles in excess of my licensed area before I can charge any extra. If a driver knows the passenger is going to an area which is outside the prescribed area then the fare is negotiable.

I'm afraid I can't comment on Southport but the law is quite specific on fares, it is up to the individual concerned whether he or she charges extra for leaving their prescribed area.

Best wishes

John Davies.

Heres the article in the Manchestrer Evening news, complete with pictures of both parties, if anyone hasn't read it.

http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/news/ ... _taxi.html
Best wishes

John Davies.