Boyfriend attacked last night

[PinkFizz]

I just am so upset and wanted a friendly word or two.

Last night my boyfriend and I went into town for a nice evening out. After a while we went from the bar we were in to a huge club opposite. Somehow after an hour or so we lost each other completely and our plan should this ever happen is to get a cab straight home and wait for the other one. So I get a cab and after being indoors 5 mins there is a knock on my door from a guy saying my boyfriend has been attacked and is in an ambulance outside. I run 20 yards up road to see the ambulance and inside is my boyfriend - totally unrecognisable - covered in blood and face a total mess.

It turns out that he hailed a black London cab and when almost at our house he said he felt sick and was indeed sick so the driver pulled over, dragged him out and repeatedly kicked him in the face and head, then just left him in the road pouring with blood. Thankfully a passer by saw him and called an ambulance then banged on my door to get me.

I just cannout believe that not only did this happen unprovoked, but a black cab driver as well. The police are trying to trace him but say it is going to be difficult. What on earth is this country coming to.???

[enigma]

Playing Devil's advocate here , I can see it from two sides here. Firstly , your boyfriend was sick in the back of the driver's taxi , which would have put him off the road as he would need to have had it thoroughly cleaned and at that time in the morning , he would have missed the busiest spell of the night (or morning rather) as the clubs spilled out , so naturally he would have been fuming. However , that said , what he did was totally inexcusable and downright disgusting - way more offensive than your boyfriend vomiting in the taxi. He was of course within his rights to demand payment for cleaning from your boyfriend and if he refused , then he could have rightly driven him to the nearest police station to demand payment but to beat him to a pulp is unbelievable. I do hope that he is caught because he is a danger to society carrying on like that and I shudder to think what might have happened to your boyfriend if he had not been found by a passer by.

[havinmysay]

how awful pinkfizz
its scary to think this could happen to anyone and by someone who you think you can trust late out on the street
cab drivers seem to be getting worse these days
i hope your bf is ok and dont let it put u off going out in the future xx

[PinkFizz]

My boyfriend told the taxi driver that he felt sick but he didnt stop. Then when he finally was sick and the driver stopped my guy thought it was for him to open the door. Then the driver just dragged him out and attacked him. He didnt even take the money for the fare as my guy still had the money in his hand on the road.

[Carakeel]

Pink, this is inexcusable!!! I am so sorry you and your boyfriend have had to go through this. How awful! Enigma, there is never an excuse for anyone who has not been attacked to drag someone out of a taxi or any other car and attack them in this way!!! People get drunk, people get sick and the taxi driver should have had the sense to stop and let this poor lad be sick at the side of the road, before then driving him home. I hope they are able to trace this lunatic driver and that he loses his licence for this! Pink, I would pursue this and make sure this taxi driver has to pay for what he has done. If we can't even trust the black cabs to take us home safely, even if ill, then I certainly wouldn't want to take a taxi anywhere again! Drivers who work at night know they are going to have to transport people who have had too much to drink and may well feel sick. If they can't handle stopping to let someone be sick outside the car, then they shouldn't work at night!!! My partner once used to work as a taxi driver and chose not to work at night for this very reason. I really hope your boyfriend recovers from this very soon pink and that the idiot who did this to him is found and punished severely!

[~Wingnut~]

OMG Pink that is terrible!!! So sorry to hear this!
I hope your boyfriend recovers quickly and that the police catch the scumbag that did this.
Being sick in the back of a cab does not warrant being beaten to a pulp, this man is a nutter and needs his licence taken from him.

Your bound to be in a state of shock for a while but please try not to let it affect you and your boyfriend too badly.

Sending hugs your way xxxx

[enigma]

Erm , Carakeel , did you actually read my answer ? I didn't say that it was okay to beat him to a pulp - quite the opposite actually so i'm not quite sure why you said that. What I said was that I can see why the driver was annoyed because he would have been off the road to clean his car and losing a lot of business. I personally don't think that it is acceptable to be sick in a taxi , unless of course in the exception such as Pinkfizz has said , if the driver refuses to stop. Why should people just accept it as par for the course on a night out that they can vomit in a taxi driver's car and swan off without compensating him ? This is his livelihood and he loses so much money waiting to have his car cleaned. The smell of vomit lingers and is vile , so he could not pick up any other passengers whilst it was in such a state. Having said that , I wish to make very clear that I am not including Pinkfizz's boyfriend in this statement as those are exceptional circumstances and if the driver refused to stop , then the blame lies with him. Furthermore , to reiterate the point I made earlier , there is NEVER any excuse for violence and he would have been within his rights to request payment for cleaning costs but to beat him black and blue is disgusting and I hope he is caught. I did say that I thought that he was a danger to society - i'm not condoning his inexcusable behaviour.

[Joe_the_Lion]

I know this was a Black Cab, but in your last paragraph you say "black cab driver".

Does this just qualify what you say initially i.e a black cab or was the driver of the black cab, black.

Makes no difference, apart from if he was black, then your boyfriend should say the assault was racially motivated and the Police will up their efforts to find the culprit.

[Joe_the_Lion]

Also due to my super-sleuth skills, make sure the police check 24 hour petrol stations with a jetwash, assuming the cabbie washed his car out afterwards.

Likewise, you can do this.

[divegirl]

Hi PinkFizz.....awwww hun, how awful for you both! Hope Mr PinkFizz is OK! Sending you both hugs.

Lisa x

[mrknowall]

I would try and find the route the driver took and look for cameras.Now a days there every where also there must be an organisation for black cabs in london contact them.
There is no excuse for the attack ok he was sick in the cab the driver should of just fined him.
Did the passer by get any of the reg?
Look around near where he attacked you boy friend there must be a camera around.
I hope he makes a full recovery.
May be your best taking a mobile out next time one each so if you lose contact you can phone each other and then get a cab together.

[PinkFizz]

Hi Joe - yes I meant it was what I call a typical London taxi - the big black ones. Oh, and the driver was white(not that the colour makes a blind bit of difference)

[Pippa68]

Big love at you & bf, Pink.

This was totally inexcusable. Cab drivers have the right to charge for cleaning the cab if a passenger vomits..likewise they can refuse to pick up a drunken fare.

As Wardy says, check out the local garages/jet washes. The coppers need to get on to this pronto. It's disgraceful.

[lilacben]

Ih Pinkfizz this is awful. What an awful thing to have happened to your boyfriend.I do hope he is feeling better soon. Did he get checked over at the hospital. These days it isnt even safe for a man to get into a taxi at night on his own.I really hope the police go all out to get this maniac before he go's after someone else. Take care yourself. I was hoping this year was going to be better for you. love Brenda x

[ReinaLuna]

You asked what on earth is this country coming to.... I cannot say more than for me, each day, they are less humans, they are more ignorant, and life has lost its proper value.

I feel very sorry to know what happened to you, and although we don't know each other, I am sending here my love and support, you must be feeling so devastated and vulnerable now, and I know how is the sensation.

Coincidence, I was here exactly to ask people what should I do, because today my boyfriend seem to have step on some flowers outside and when he came back from the street the neighbour were SHOUTING at him, all the rude words you can imagine, and when he said politely that he didn't even know there were flowers there (close to a short wall we use as a shortcut to the high st) he said "any more trouble from you and I slit your throat"...

So, that's the kind of world we are living in... sorry if I couldn't be more cheeful to you, but let's keep believing there are good ones amongst this whole c*r*ap!!!

[StudentGal]

That is awful. he may have been ****** off that your fella was sick in the car but isn't that what soiling charges are for? my mate was sick in a taxi once and the driver marched her to a cashpoint and got his �60 charge. What is wrong with some people eh?