Taxi Driver Online

I have just been told that a local driver intervened in a dispute between 2 passengers by using pepper spray on the man. I was told that she spent a few hours at the police station afterwards. Is she likely to face any charges about this? (not one of my drivers.)

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Grandad,
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I think they might be in a spot if bother, she may well get a caution but she’d do well to keep her badge.

https://www.nationalworld.com/news/crim ... ed-3404519

Well if it's illegal to simply possess it, actually using it is a whole different ball game.

Of course, whether or what charges she might face will depend on the precise circumstances, but it won't work in her favour if there was no threat to herself.

On the other hand, if the person who was sprayed was assaulting or endangering the life of the other passenger, then that might put things in a different light.

But one of these scenarios where it's difficult to predict what might happen, particularly unless the precise details of what happened are known. But presumably she didn't deploy pepper spray because a couple of punters were bickering about who should pay the fare, say

I think there was a previous similar case albeit years ago and that did not end well for the driver IIRC

http://www.taxi-driver.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=35278&p=396969&hilit=pepper+spray#p396969

http://www.taxi-driver.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=29177&p=351829&hilit=pepper+spray#p351829

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Taxis Are Public Transport too

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Inprisonable offense.

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IDFIMH

I suspect, or I hope, the police have made the driver aware of the severity of her actions.

Mere possession could lead to imprisonment, let alone discharging the stuff.

Be very surprised if the driver is still in the trade in 6 months time.

If a driver is so worried about their safety that they carry a can of pepper spray, then you really have to wonder why they are still working in it.

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IDFIMH

It's a non fatal spray, and you can never tell if the passenger behind you is a psycho or not until it's to late, so if the police can use it in self defence then I can't see why Taxi or PH drivers cant.

Well basically it’s the law.

However if it was allowed then it would also be freely available to the crazies who sit behind us.

But I go back to the point about our safety. If our trade is that unsafe that someone needs that stuff for protection, then we should all pack up and go home.

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IDFIMH

The police can also carry and use tazers and firearms. It does not follow that anyone else can. Also, in this particular instance, the driver was not under threat.

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Grandad,
To support my charity text MAYORWALK to 70085 to donate £5

thats 1 driver off the streets

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Of all the things ive lost, i miss my mind the most

The sentencing guidelines that will apply in the pepper spray case are below.

https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/of ... ed-weapon/

To determine culpability it's a two-stage process. What was the weapon, and how was it used?

It's a non-lethal weapon, so that means it's type 3 on the first stage table. The weapon was used so that IMO makes it medium culpability. Adding those two together in the next table makes it a culpability category B.

In respect of harm we can only go by what Grandad has said happened. It could be category 2, no serious but some distress caused, or category 3 minimal distress caused. My view is it falls in category 2.

We then go to Table 2, as Table 1 is for indictable only cases, the case we have at hand doesn't fit that IMO.

Table 2's B (culpability) 2 (harm) starting point is one year in prison, with a range from High Level Community Order to 2 years. I don't see any aggravating factors in what we have been told, but I'm assuming no previous and of good character as mitigating factors.

This could bring the sentence down to a High Level Community Order, or a Suspended Sentence Order.

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IDFIMH

That's not the same though, ones a non lethal assault defence spray...the others are potentially lethal.

Then I refer you to the answer given by Sussex. "It's the law."

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Grandad,
To support my charity text MAYORWALK to 70085 to donate £5

I'm not denying that it's the Law, I'm only wondering why it's the law.