Taxi Driver Online

Well this one got off lightly


Racist demanded 'why have you sent a black person' before choking taxi driver

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/li ... t-26207720

Gary Bohanna unleashed the terrifying attack after a tirade of racist abuse but walked free from court


Image: Facebook/Liverpool Echo

A racist passenger throttled a taxi driver with his belt as the victim made desperate efforts to keep his vehicle on the road.

Gary Bohanna positioned himself behind the driver's seat then forcefully choked the driver with the item of clothing as the vehicle was in motion, having subjected him to a tirade of vile racist abuse. But he walked free from court today, Friday, in spite of his terrifying and unprovoked attack.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that Emmanuel Okinlola went to collect the 51-year-old from the St Hilda pub on Walton Road in Kirkdale on the afternoon of December 15 last year. Bohanna, of Tavy Road in Everton, came out of the premises and asked him to wait as he was "still having a drink" inside.

Katy Appleton, prosecuting, described how he returned a few minutes later and said: "Why have they sent a black person to pick me up? I do not trust any black person."

Mr Okinlola challenged him over his behaviour but continued with the journey, with Bohanna wishing to be dropped in the Anfield Road area. But he continued his shocking language, saying "you need to go back to your country" and began listing African nations and swearing at him.

When told he was being recorded, the defendant became increasingly aggressive and began grabbing his arm. Mr Okinlola warned Bohanna that he could cause the car to crash, after which his assailant said "I'm going to strangle you" and moved to sit directly behind him before adding: "You think you are safe, you should be scared."

The complainant then glanced into his rear view mirror to see him taking off his belt. The drunk man repeated his threat to "strangle" the driver before reaching over his head and wrapping the accessory around his neck and pulling "extremely hard".

This continued for around three minutes and left Mr Okinlola "fighting for breath" and struggling to remain conscious while remaining in control of the vehicle. He was eventually able to pull over on Oakfield Road in Anfield following a near miss with a set of traffic lights, then successfully fought Bohanna off and sought the assistance of a nearby police car.

The violent customer fled but left his belt behind. Under interview following his subsequent arrest, he initially claimed Mr Okinlola had been "going the wrong way and locked him in the vehicle" and denied having racially abused him.

However, when officers then played him the audio clip of the incident, Bohanna confessed "you've got me now". He has a total of seven previous convictions for 12 offences.

Paul Becker, defending, told the court: "Clearly, Mr Bohanna needs help. It is terrible offending.

"He has post traumatic stress disorder and an alcohol dependency. If that can be addressed, Mr Bohanna will remain offence-free."

Bohanna admitted intentional strangulation and racially-aggravated threatening behaviour during an earlier hearing. Appearing via video link to HMP Altcourse, he was handed a 12-month imprisonment suspended for two years.

Sentencing, Recorder Ciaran Rankin said: "You really should know better than to get involved in the type of activity you did. It seems quite clear to me that you are a man who needs some help.

"Simply locking you up is not going to benefit anyone. You behaved disgracefully to a man going about his lawful, necessary business - someone providing a public service to the city of Liverpool."

Bohanna replied "I agree" at this point. The judge continued: "He is entitled to be treated with respect and dignity - you did quite the opposite. You were racist in the farthest of terms. It must have been terrifying for him."

Bohanna was also told to serve a rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 30 days and a six-month alcohol abstinence requirement. He was given a restraining order preventing him from contacting Mr Okinlola.

A few other bits and pieces in the CPS's official news release, but much of it is similar to that above.


Man who racially abused and tried to strangle a taxi driver sentenced

https://www.cps.gov.uk/mersey-cheshire/ ... -sentenced

A man who racially abused and tried to strangle a taxi driver has been sentenced.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said that Gary Bohanna, 51, of Tavy Road in the Everton area of Liverpool, ordered a taxi to collect him from St Hilda’s pub on Walton Road in Liverpool on 15 December 2022.

The taxi driver arrived about 3pm. Bohanna came out and then told the driver he was going back into the pub to finish his drink and would be a few minutes. He eventually came out and immediately started to racially abuse the driver.

The driver told him to stop or he would ask Bohanna to get out of the taxi. The driver also informed Bohanna that he was recording his comments on his mobile phone.

Bohanna continued with vile racist remarks and told the driver that he should be scared.

Bohanna then undid the belt of his trousers and moved directly behind the driver. He placed the belt around the driver’s neck and held it tight for about three minutes until the driver managed to remove it, stop the car and get out.

Bohanna left the cab and went to hide behind a nearby parked car. The driver flagged down a passing police car and told the officers about the abuse and the strangulation. They found Bohanna and arrested him.

At the police station, Bohanna continued his racist abuse and said he had wanted to kill the driver. In interview he denied it was his belt that he used, denied strangling the victim or being racist. The audio of the incident was played to him and he said, “You’ve got me now”.

He was charged with intentional strangulation and racially aggravated use of threatening words to cause distress. He pleaded guilty at the first hearing at Liverpool Magistrates' Court on 17 December 2022.

Today (10 February 2023), at Liverpool Crown Court, he was given a 12-month jail term, suspended for 24 months. He must do 30 days of a rehabilitation activity and attend an Alcohol Abstinence programme for six months. A restraining order preventing him making contact with the victim was also imposed for five years.

In a Victim Personal Statement, the victim said the incident has left him traumatised. He genuinely thought that Bohanna was going to kill him.

He no longer wants to work as a taxi driver and is looking for another job but has to continue for now as he needs the money.

He added : “I am a religious man and want to forgive this man but I am struggling to do this. It will bring me peace to know he has been punished and hopefully he will not think about doing this again.”

Senior Crown Prosecutor Michael Cain, of CPS Mersey-Cheshire said, “The actions of Gary Bohanna on that day were vile, disturbing and totally unacceptable.

“The victim was simply doing his job but was subjected to a torrent of abuse both verbal and physical because of his ethnicity. He was understandably genuinely terrified.

“This sort of offending strikes at the very heart of what the victim is and is extremely distressing. The Crown Prosecution Service applied for an uplift to the sentence to reflect the racist element of this hate crime and the court has accepted this.

“The CPS would like to extend our thanks to the victim for his help in bringing this prosecution.”

Um...

But presumably the guilty plea had a lot to do with the slap-on-the-wrists sentence

" Bohanna" that's a very English sounding name not !

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

Not sure members of the taxi/PH trade would concur.

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IDFIMH